The Beginning
by E350
Summary: The sequel to Middle Grounds. A year has passed, and our heroes are in thier darkest hour. Then the Balance is found, and suddenly, everything changes. Crossover with DP, JN & SBSP. Timmy/Dani, possibly other pairings. Rated for character death.
1. Prologue

And so it begins. This is the final chapter of this overarching and mildly good story. I sincerely hope you enjoy this one, because I know I'm going to enjoy writing it! :D Once again, this is placed in the FOP section, as Timmy is the hero.

Now, lettace begin (misspelling intentional)...

* * *

**The Beginning**

**Prologue: Operation Crossroads**

_July 25__th__, 1946. Universe C._

The Pacific Ocean is usually pictured as a calm, peaceful region of tranquil oceans and small, vibrant islands. In this respect, the armada of rusty ships that had been arranged not far from the Bikini Atoll was a jarring contrast.

One such ship was the large battleship, USS _Arkansas_.

The _Arkansas_ was a US Battleship of the _Wyoming_ class, launched in 1910. It had served in both World Wars, but was now obsolete, replaced by a new generation of warships.

What few knew - least of all Admiral William Blandy, the nominal commander of this strange flotilla – was that the _Arkansas _was currently playing host to a small item that would one day change the fate of the multiverse.

It had been the diadem of a crewmember that had died at Okinawa, left forgotten after the war was ended. This diadem had a history behind it, mind you; it had been stolen from an Aztec woman by a Spaniard, who'd had it nicked by a Frenchman in the War of the Spanish Succession, a Brit in the French & Indian War, and an American in the War of 1812.

Long story short, it was an old, Aztec creation which no-one had ever considered significant.

It would be, given time.

For now, however, it sat aboard the _Arkansas,_ never hearing the ship's impending doom being counted off by a man in a ship more then ten miles away.

"Five…four…three…two…one…fire."

The atomic bomb stationed at the centre of the fleet exploded.

Smashed by the shockwave and by a massive bloom of boiling water, the _Arkansas_ was literally tilted downwards and flipped over. Her starboard decks were literally smashed, and her hull structure was forcefully shortened by twenty-five feet.

It goes without saying that she was sunk.

_

* * *

Universe A; Around Sixty Years Later…_

"We're always after some bloody Mac Guffin," sighed Colonel R. Atkinson.

He stood on a ledge, overlooking a small base on the other side of the flatlands ahead. He rolled his eyes, and spoke into his radio.

"Tell me, Lieutenant, how did we end up in the Savannah?" he asked.

"You tell me," came the voice of Lieutenant Max Bishop, "All I'm concerned about right now is getting this dispatch Freakshow's put out to his goons."

"Oh yes, the Fairy Immunization Network, Allied League," deadpanned Atkinson, "F.I.N.A.L., how very bloody original."

"You've gotta give 'em credit," mused another voice – that of Valerie Grey, "They make F.A.I.R. look like amateurs."

"Let's not delve in this drivel," sighed Atkinson, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are go."

The air was filled with the sound of propellers as four helicopters flew over the horizon behind the Colonel, heading straight for the F.I.N.A.L. base.

Aboard one of the transport helicopters, Bishop was giving the final sound off for the troops aboard.

"OK, you younger guys don't know what you're getting into here," he explained, "These guys are a step up from F.A.I.R. – they're well trained, well equipped and answerable to the President only. However, we have one thing they don't have."

He grinned, and pointed to the lead helicopter.

"We have a gunship. Now sound off!"

There was a clicking noise as Bishop's men, Sergeants Mark Gavin and Gregorio Rourke, loaded their weapons. Hesitantly, the other troops in the chopper (most of them deserters from other militaries) followed suit.

The gunship soared ahead of the column and over the gates of the base, before firing a quick salvo of missiles to blanket the entire area. Down below, the tired, disoriented and confused troops ran from their barracks, some shooting at the helicopter with their rifles – an exercise in futility.

Once the gunship had used up all of its ammo, it pulled back. The transport helicopters quickly touched down, offloading their contingents.

"CAVE!" yelled an enemy office, "THEY'RE FROM THE CAVE, FIRE!"

A pink ray of ectoplasm made contact with his face, knocking him several yards backwards.

"Thank you, Sergeant Obvious," grinned Valerie Grey, walking towards the main building of the base.

The commander of the base was a man named Lt. Colonel Burke, who was currently packing up his supplies and intending to make a quick exit. Grabbing a file, he ran for the door, and it burst open.

Molly Keith slammed a fist into his face, and he was knocked out.

Scowling, Molly knelt down and picked up the file.

"This is ours," she spat.

Bishop was currently providing covering fire for the helicopters when he saw Molly returning with the file.

"Alright, she's got it; we're getting out of dodge before Cyclops has us locked!" he ordered.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" snapped Rourke.

The troops of the Cave quickly scrambled back into the helicopters, which hurriedly lifted off. It was lucky that they had – one barely missed an anti-rocket to the cockpit.

"Alright, they're outbound," mused Atkinson, still watching from the rise, "Initiate phase engine and give everyone the good news – we've got the last piece of the puzzle to finding the Balance."

He turned off the radio and allowed himself a small grin.

They had spent two years in hiding from F.A.I.R. before striking against them. In that one night, they had lost nearly everything, and now a year had passed.

Now, at last, they could rise again. This time, he hoped, they would win.


	2. Chapter 1: The More Things Change

Well, here we go. I added a bit more humour to this one, to make up for the ending of Middle Grounds being all doom and gloom.

Review replies;

**OddAuthor:** Awesome, I'm a history buff too! :D I'm glad you liked the action, as it's not my strong point. Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper:** That diadem will become quite important in the future, mark my words... :D Thanks for reviewing!

**BANZAC:** Thanks mate, glad you liked it :). What does the B stand for in your username, anyway? Thanks for reading!  
**

* * *

Chapter One: The More Things Change**

To say Cyclops was massive would be to make a gross understatement.

Coming in at roughly the size of the _Titanic_, Cyclops had a crew compliment of one and a half thousand arm troops. Following UN protocol, small contingents from the five members of the Security Council were stationed on the space station, but the vast majority were highly trained and well equipped troops of F.I.N.A.L.

Most of these troops were standing at attention in the loading bay of the space station at this point. They were immaculate in their blue dress uniforms and polished ceremonial rifles, and none of them made even the slightest movement as the aircraft landed.

Cyclops, you see, was surrounded by an artificial gravity field, allowing ordinary aircraft to land and take off from the premises. This would have been a revolutionary and celebrated achievement – had it not been kept totally secret from the public.

At this moment, Air Force One had just landed, and its passenger was about to emerge into the loading bay.

The door opened, and President Frederick Isak Showsenhower – Freakshow to his allies (and foes) – stepped into the bay, flanked by two Elites. The Elites were mindless but magically enhanced agents of the former Federal Anti-Irregular Response, who now operated under the direct command of the President.

A well decorated and somewhat grizzled officer walked up to Freakshow and saluted.

"Mr. President, sir."

"Ah, General Stone," nodded Freakshow, "I trust you've been keeping an eye on the place?"

"Yes sir," nodded General Stone, "All processes are fully functional."

"Good," dismissed Freakshow, absently, "Tell me, General, how is Major von Strangle going these days? I assume he's having a ball?"

"I overheard him questioning you last week, sir," replied Stone, "He's beginning to believe that his payment isn't worth what he's getting…if he ever gets it."

"He's utterly naïve if he's thinks I'm giving," mused Freakshow, "You would think he'd accept that. Has he informed of any stratagems lately?"

"No sir – I think he's empty as far as helping us goes," shrugged Stone.

"For his sake, I hope he hasn't," growled Freakshow, "At this point in time, we cannot afford liabilities – and he is fast becoming one."

He grinned, suddenly.

"Anyway, General, our scheme awaits!" he boomed, and he walked briskly towards the centre of the space station.

* * *

At this very moment, the Chosen of the Light was in the middle of a most dangerous game.

He knew, at any moment, any moment at all, he could be defeated, and that all of his work would be for naught. He could not – he repeated, he could _not_ afford to lose at this point. He had to persevere, he had to make his move, or risk total destruction.

He made his move.

"B-4!" he declared.

"You sunk my battleship!" moaned Cosmo.

Timmy Turner grinned, and made a victory pose. His opponent, the fairy Cosmo Julius Cosma, made a face as he cleared his side of the board.

"I'm not playing this game anymore," he pouted.

"Fine by me," shrugged Timmy, "It was getting boring, anyway."

"Hey, at least we didn't get shanghaied into Jimmy's game!" grinned Cosmo.

"Tell me about it," nodded Timmy, "How long have he and Skulker been arguing about Monopoly over there?"

"_For the last time!_" Skulker's voice boomed from the Neutron's kitchen, "_I did NOT mortgage that property!"_

The sound of a door opening alerted Timmy and Cosmo. They glanced to the front entrance as Danielle Fenton walked inside.

Dani was a clone, created from the genetic material of Danny Phantom. She also happened to be Timmy's girlfriend.

"Hey guys," she greeted.

"Hi," nodded Timmy, "How's Veronica?"

"She's fine, I guess," Dani shrugged, "She's trying to work out how exactly we're supposed to rebuild Fairy World – there hasn't been any progress so far."

"We'll manage it eventually," reassured Timmy.

"Right," nodded Dani, unsurely, "You guys heard from the away team yet?"

"Not back yet," replied Timmy, "They were supposed to be here an hour ago, but they got lost."

"Got lost?" mused Dani, brow raised, "How'd they manage that?"

"Atkinson said not to ask," replied Timmy, "He's probably embarrassed."

There was a sudden banging noise, and Sanjay Bradley literally broke into the room.

Sanjay had been one of the two survivors of Timmy's old friendship group, the other being Chester McBadbat (AJ Ibrehim and Elmer Boyle were dead, Tootie was _technically _dead, Molly was from out of town and he'd never really been friends with Veronica.) He remained bright and optimistic despite everything he'd been through, and was currently wearing a giant grin on his face.

"Guys!" he shouted, "The away team's back! They know where the Balance is!"

To say that Timmy literally shot off to the lab would be a huge underestimation.

* * *

"Spongebob! Front and centre!"

Spongebob Squarepants entered his boss' office, looking mildly confused. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? Well, there was that one time with the grease traps, but Squidward had _promised_ never to tell anyone about that…

"Yes, Mr. Krabs?" he asked, brightly.

Eugene Krabs was sitting at his desk. He grinned as the fry cook approached.

"Boy, I've been getting' a lot of messages from this…Freakshow guy who's been sendin' you those letters you told me about," began Mr. Krabs.

"Including the death threats?" mused Spongebob.

"Aye," nodded Mr. Krabs, "Anyway, this Freakshow guy sent a letter to me house, and he's offered me a million dollars to order you to work for him."

"Uh…I don't think you should do that," warned Spongebob, "I got this letter from a guy about a year ago telling me not to trust him."

"Oh, c'mon, me boy!" grinned Mr. Krabs, "He can't be that bad, can't he? I mean, Freakshow, it's a name ye trust, right boy?"

Spongebob blinked.

"Spongebob, I'm ordering ye to work for him," said Mr. Krabs, bluntly.

"But I can't do that!" exclaimed Spongebob, "I was told not to listen to him!"

"Ye're too naïve, boy, ye're not considerin' the financial possibilities o' this…"

"Mr. Krabs, I-I really can't," stammered Spongebob.

"Fine then," nodded Mr. Krabs, "That's how it's gonna be. Fine…fine."

Spongebob stood for a moment. For a moment, he thought that his boss was letting him off the hook.

"Ye're fired," said Mr. Krabs at last.

"W-what?" gasped Spongebob.

"I said ye fired, get out!" snapped Mr. Krabs, "_Now!_"

"B-b-b-b-but Mr. Krabs!" pleaded Spongebob, "I'm not…"

"_OUT!_" bellowed Mr. Krabs.

He proceeded to literally grab the now former fry cook and literally throw him out the front door. Scowling, he locked it behind him.

At the cash register, Squidward Tentacles looked up from his magazine.

"Did you fire him again?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Ye're fired too," snapped Mr. Krabs.

"See you tomorrow," deadpanned Squidward, walking out the door and ignoring his bawling co-worker on his way.

Mr. Krabs stormed back into his office, and dialled a number into his phone.

"Spectra, this is Bertrand," he announced, "I couldn't get him to transfer, so I fired them both. The premises are clear for us, once you overshadow someone."

"_Good, Freakshow has that base he wanted," _a feminine voice replied from the other end of the line, "_Did you deal with the crab?_"

"You might say he's under my feet right now," grinned the person who was certainly not Mr. Krabs, tapping his foot on the floorboards.

There was a muffled groan from below, indicating someone down below. Bertrand grinned, and put his feet up on his desk, whistling.


	3. Chapter 2: Finding the Balance

In this chapter, stuff happens. No really, it does! ... I know, lame joke.

Review replies;

**Jolius Darkmaster:** I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I have a good reason. Thanks for reading!

**OddAuthor:** Thanks! Poor Mr. Krabs indeed, and yes, Jorgen can certainly be a very naive guy!

**unknown20troper:** I'm glad you found it funny! Thanks for reviewing!

**BANZAC:** Thanks very much! Stone does seem to be a shifty guy, doesn't he?

**

* * *

Chapter Two: Finding the Balance**

Timmy glanced across the centre chamber of Jimmy's lab, and noted just how much things had really changed.

Molly Keith, the leader of the Cave, maintained her usual dour look, her arms crossed and her eyes glancing disdainfully at Colonel Atkinson, who was helping Jimmy set something up on the screen.

Chester McBadbat had, at one point, been Timmy's best friend. Now, however, they hardly spoke. Chester had been hardened by his year in the Cave, and had never really gotten over AJ's death. He had become withdrawn, his clothes and hair becoming more ragged and forlorn every day. Five times he had been arrested by the Retroville Police Department for loitering.

Jimmy Neutron, for the most part, was still the bright, intellectual and mildly arrogant inventor he had been a year ago, but he found little time for his friends these days. His schedule consisted of school, trying to find the Balance, sleep and eating, not necessarily in that order.

Tucker Foley was, externally, little changed, wearing the same attire (that made him resemble a traffic light in some regards). He had not taken Danny's death well, and it had taken eight months for the old Tucker to return. Now, he was the same old techno-geek from the past – but Danny Fenton could be a very touchy subject.

Jazz Fenton, by all respects, should have taken Danny's death the hardest, but she had recovered remarkably quickly (although it had still been four months). Perhaps it was the comfort of the existence of the Ghost Zone, and by extension the possibility of a 'beyond' for the dead.

Norm the Genie was, by and by large, Norm the Genie. He was the same genie Timmy had met three years ago, and he would probably remain the same genie until Timmy was on his deathbed. This, it struck Timmy, may not be that much of a long term prospect.

Veronica Star had changed a lot as well, the most glaring alteration being the large wings on her back and the wand. As the new Holder of Da Rules, she did not come to Retroville often, endeavouring to protect the fairies from Freakshow. Timmy had to admit, she'd grown up quite a lot.

Lastly, Valerie Grey had trained a great deal in physical combat, realising that she could not rely on an endless supply of ectoplasmic weaponry anymore.

Sabre Team hadn't changed much at all, really, save for the fact that Gavin had tried – and failed – to grow a beard. Colonel Atkinson was also very constant in personality. Skulker, Ember and Technus, the former looking totally out of place, had changed the very least.

"Gentlemen, Ladies," began Atkinson, "We have found the Balance. Mr. Neutron?"

"Thank you, Colonel," nodded Jimmy, "In 1946, the US Navy committed to an atomic test near the island of Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. One of the ships involved was the USS _Arkansas_. On board the _Arkansas_ was a small diadem…"

"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" demanded Gavin.

"This isn't our universe I'm talking about," replied Jimmy, "We'll call this one Universe C. The diadem is directly connected to the Balance – it's the partner."

"Partner?" mused Timmy.

"The partner," nodded Atkinson, "Light, Dark and Balance each has a partner, who they choose personally with a token – such as the Diadem. The other two tokens are…"

"The Armband and the Headband."

Vlad Masters walked into the room, before leaning on the wall. A small grin was plastered on his face.

"The Armband for the Dark, the Headband for the Light," he explained, "Do go on."

"I've gotta find a headband now?" sighed Timmy, "Why do we keep having to find things?"

"You don't find it," Vlad corrected, "It finds you."

"So what's the partner do?" asked Bishop.

"The Partner is considered the single most trusted ally of the Shade," replied Atkinson, "The Shades, of course, being Light, Dark and Balance."

"The Partner gets little bonuses from the token," nodded Vlad, "A small percentage of their power, for example. As long as they remain at the Shade's side, that power will be accessible – neigh, indestructible – allowing a far more devastating array of control to their abilities."

He paused impressively.

"But if the Partner _leaves_ the Shade's side, then that power is eternally lost, potentially leaving the Shade at the mercy of their enemy," he finished.

"Point taken," nodded Valerie, irritably, "Now can you tell us who the Balance is?"

"Yep," nodded Jimmy, "It's this guy."

A picture of a small, anthropomorphic sponge appeared on the screen. There was a long pause.

"You gotta be kidding me," blurted Gavin, at last.

* * *

Patrick Star walked up to the door of his best friend's pineapple. Grinning, he knocked on the door.

The door creaked open, and a thoroughly depressed Spongebob stood on the other side.

"Hey Pat," he moaned.

"Hey Spongebob!" grinned Patrick, oblivious to his friend's mood, "How're you doing?"

"I'm wallowing in spiralling depression with only my material possessions to comfort me."

"Great! Wanna go jellyfishing?" blurted Patrick.

"I'm not in the mood," replied Spongebob, in a downbeat tone.

Patrick looked confused.

"You're not in the mood?" he quizzed, "Should I take you to the doctors again?"

"Not unless there's a vaccine for being fired," sighed Spongebob.

Patrick gasped.

"You got _fired?_"

Spongebob nodded.

"That's terrible," said Patrick, sympathetically, "What was…"

"Hey, Spongebob!"

The two friends turned, confused, as Pearl Krabs walked up to them.

"I heard you got fired," exclaimed Pearl.

"Yep," nodded Spongebob, "Now I'm in a swelling hopelessness that has engulfed my entire life."

"Yep, that's great!" grinned Pearl, "Anyway, I got something that'll cheer you up, Spongeboy!"

"Uh…Sponge_bob_."

"Whatever," nodded Pearl, "You know that big shipwreck outside of town?"

"You mean the one with the big DANGER: KEEP OUT signs around it?" asked Spongebob.

"That's the one," replied Pearl, "We're holding a party there tomorrow night, anyone who's anyone's gonna be there!"

"Will Squidward be there?" asked Patrick.

"No," deadpanned Pearl, "Anyway, you're invited! I'll see you there tomorrow, remember to shower first…"

"But…" began Spongebob.

"…oh, and daddy will be there, so you can beg for your job back!" finished Pearl.

"I'll be there!" grinned Spongebob.

"Just one thing," explained Pearl, her expression becoming serious, "You have to bring a date – and I mean a _girl_ date, not Patrick. Well, see ya!"

Pearl walked away, grinning.

"Hey!" snapped Patrick, "I wouldn't date Spongebob! He's _ugly!_"

Spongebob glanced at him.

"No offence, buddy," he added, quickly.

* * *

Pearl walked merrily into the Krusty Krab. Once she arrived, her grin turned from a bright one to a sinister, cool one.

"Well, that was easy," she said to herself, "Bertrand!"

Bertrand (still disguised as Mr. Krabs) walked out of his office.

"Did you invite him?" he asked, "If you failed, Freakshow doesn't pay us, remember?"

"I got him," Pearl – or to be far more precise, Penelope Spectra – grinned, "Now we just have to wait for Freakshow to make his move, then he'll win and we'll have access to all the misery we could ever need."

* * *

"You see all that?" asked Jimmy, as they watched from his lab, "Looks like Freakshow beat us to the punch – but he hasn't got the Balance yet."

"Evidently, he's going to set up a kidnapping at the _Arkansas_," nodded Bishop, "But why there? Isn't that thing radioactive?"

"Only parts of it, these days," replied Atkinson, "The authorities of Universe C seemed to have scrubbed most of the fallout – all that resulted was mutated workers and families."

"I love nuclear power," deadpanned Norm, "So, who's gonna go over there?"

"You, for a start," shot Atkinson, bluntly, "The away team will need magic or ectoplasmic defence."

"Right," nodded Timmy, "I'll take Dani, Jazz, Norm, Jimmy and Sheen. Everyone else stays behind and keeps an eye on Freakshow."

"Everyone bar you, Sabre Team," interrupted Atkinson, "You're with me. I have a plan – suffice to say, it's quite ambitious."

"We're gonna shoot something?" grinned Bishop.

"Not quite," corrected Atkinson, "We're going to gather an army. Ever been to London, Sabre?"

"Once," nodded Rourke, "Don't remember much of it – woke up in a leather jacket next to a blue box."

"Alright," grinned Timmy, "When do we leave?"

"Tonight," replied Atkinson, "That'll give us twenty-four hours."

"Good," nodded Timmy.

He paused impressively, letting suspense drip over all in the room. His eyes flashed with a glint of grim determination.

"Cyclops goes down tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 3: Complexities

The adventure continues, but first, review replies!

**Tweenisode Orange:** Good to see you back! I sympathise about the school work - I never had much fun in school.

**OddAuthor:** Thanks for reviewing! It's quite a pity about Chester, really. :(

**unknown20troper:** Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked my descriptions - I thought I was being a bit long winded, myself.

**BANZAC:** I see you like Sabre Team, mate! :D Thanks very much!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three: Complexities**

Jorgen Von Strangle sat in his quarters on Cyclops, deep in thought as he lifted his weights. Three years ago, the words 'Jorgen' and 'think' would be separated by 'doesn't', but a great deal had changed since then.

It had been three years, three whole years, and the government had done nothing to help him, not even returned him a single fairy. Jorgen had little reason by now to think that Freakshow would deliver on the promise Fulton had sworn.

He had been lied to, and now he had nothing, not even a single friend.

Jorgen dropped his weights and picked up his giant wand. Calmly, he walked out the door.

Entering the hallway, Jorgen found Freakshow and General Stone walking down the corridor, obviously intending to summon him.

"Problem, Jorgen?" asked Freakshow, grinning.

"I'm leaving," snapped Jorgen, "You puny humans have done nothing for me, none of you!"

"You intend to leave, Von Strangle?" demanded Stone.

"That is correct. I'm going to Turner's side," he explained, "I hate to admit it, but he was right – and I was wrong."

Freakshow nodded.

"Then you outlived your usefulness, Jorgen," he sighed.

Stone pulled a butterfly net from his pocket and swung it over Jorgen's head. Shocked, the big fairy found himself constricted by the netting, and fell to his knees.

With a grim scowl on his face, General Stone aimed his pistol and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Spongebob and Patrick approached Squidward's door and knocked.

"I'm not sure about this, Pat," said Spongebob, "What if he doesn't help us?"

"He'll help you, Spongebob, just let me do the talking!" replied Patrick, brightly.

Squidward opened the door.

"Hey Squidward, Spongebob needs a date! Are you free?" grinned Patrick.

SLAM.

"What do I do?" asked Patrick, confused.

"I think you worded it wrong?" replied Spongebob, thoughtfully, "I'll try."

He knocked again. Irritably, Squidward answer.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"Squidward, do you know anyone I could date?" asked Spongebob.

"Who'd wanna date you?" demanded Squidward.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you," replied Spongebob, shrugging.

"Can't you irritate someone else about this?" snapped Squidward, "Go talk to one of your other friends!"

"Well, apart from you, the only other friend I have is San…dy…"

Spongebob paused for a few seconds, a look of realization dawning on his face.

"Aha! Squidward, Sandy's a girl, right?"

Squidward blinked.

"Yes," he replied, bluntly.

"Great!" grinned Spongebob, "Squidward, you're a genius! Thanks for the advice, bye!"

Spongebob and Patrick ran off merrily, leaving Squidward in their dust.

The squid shook his head.

"If Spongebob compliments you, is it a compliment, or an insult?" he mused to himself, walking back inside.

* * *

Timmy walked into the Neutron's lounge room, trying to kill time before he left for Universe C. Sighting Jimmy reading a newspaper on the lounge; he sat himself next to him and grinned.

"Hey, Jimmy, wanna play some video games?" he asked.

Jimmy did not reply.

"Come on, Jim, that thing can't be that interesting!" appealed Timmy, "We've got four hours to forget this whole Fairy War, you can't just…"

"Freakshow nuked Jensenberg," said Jimmy, simply.

It took a few seconds for Timmy to register what he had said.

"What?" he asked.

"Freakshow nuked Jensenberg," replied Jimmy, "Made a direct order three days ago, which was carried out by General Maximillian Stone. It's gone."

Timmy shook his head.

"Wow," he uttered, "Just…wow. Did we tell Sarah Cummings?"

Sarah Cummings had once been an ordinary child – then she had used magic to warp her home town of Jensenberg. Unfortunately, however, she had been outwitted by Norm and turned into a genie. Now, she was forced to obey Norm's whims, much to the latter's delight.

"Norm told her this morning," nodded Jimmy, "She didn't take it well. She's been in her lamp all day."

They were silent for a few seconds.

"So…we're finding the Balance tomorrow, huh?" mused Jimmy.

"It all ends tomorrow, if we're lucky," nodded Timmy.

"Timmy, we're _never_ lucky," reminded Jimmy.

Timmy grinned, but the grin was soon replaced by a thoughtful look.

"What're we gonna do when it's all over?" he asked.

"Me?" chuckled Jimmy, "I'm just gonna go back to the daily grind. Y'know – school, home, inventing…it'll be great not having to worry about Light and Dark anymore."

He sat back in his chair, grinning.

"So what about you?"

"I don't know," replied Timmy, "I don't have a home to go back to, not anymore."

"What about your parents?" asked Jimmy.

"They're planning on moving to Amity Park," shrugged Timmy.

"…and what about you?"

Timmy sighed.

"All I know is that I can't just go back to normal after everything we've been through," he replied, "I haven't lived a normal life for three years – why start now?"

Jimmy nodded.

"You're welcome to stay here, if you want to," he offered, "Just until you make up your mind."

"I'd like that," nodded Timmy.

He grinned, and said no more.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this anymore, Pat," mused Spongebob, walking up to the door of the Treedome.

"Relax, it'll be fine," grinned Patrick, "Just hold out your pinkie at all times!"

"But Pat, what if she says no?" asked Spongebob.

"Well, then you can wallow in your self-pity like Plankton does!" grinned Patrick.

* * *

Not far away, Sheldon Plankton sneezed.

* * *

"Well, good luck!" wished Patrick.

He slammed his hand on the doorbell before running for home.

"Wait, Patrick, what're you…" began Spongebob, aghast.

"Howdy, Spongebob!"

Spongebob turned around to find that Sandy had already arrived.

"Um…hey," nodded Spongebob, "Uh…I got this letter from Pearl today, and she's invited me to a…err…party on that old ship outside of town tomorrow, and…um…I was wondering if you might maybe possibly kinda want to…"

"You're askin' me to come, right?" nodded Sandy.

"Err…yeah," replied Spongebob, sheepishly.

Sandy grinned.

"You don't have to make such a big deal about it, I'd love ta come!" she replied, "Haven't had me a good shindig in ages!"

"Great!" nodded Spongebob, "I'll see you tomorrow and…err…yeah…we'll be shindig…ing."

There was a short silence.

"See you!" said Spongebob, quickly.

He darted away into the distance.

Sandy stared after him for a few seconds, confused.

"What's got him in a ruckus?" she asked herself, shaking her head.

* * *

When Colonel Atkinson wanted something to look official, he made it look _official._

The aircraft they were flying had nary a scratch on the paintwork as it flew to London from Berlin (to which Jimmy had installed a direct teleporter). On board, all escorting troops had been dressed in full dress uniform – including, much to their chagrin, Sabre Team.

"Damn it, I haven't worn this thing in _years!_" snapped Gavin, "I forgot how stiff it was!"

"Shut up, Gavin," shot Bishop, "Remember why we're here – F.I.N.A.L. could try to jump the Colonel at any moment."

"Quite right," nodded Atkinson, looking back from his seat at the front of the plane, "The House won't appreciate my brains splattered all over the Speaker."

"The House?" gaped Rourke, "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"It does," replied Bishop, grimly, "We're making an appeal – there are other guys in Washington, Brussels, Moscow, Beijing, Kyoto, Canberra and what have you – we're gonna have Freakshow declared a rogue agent."

Rourke nodded.

"Shall I start carving our gravestones now, then?" he asked.

"Shut up, Rourke," scowled Gavin.

Rourke rolled his eyes, and pulled a blindfold over his eyes before going to sleep.


	5. Chapter 4: Getting the Show on the Road

WARNING: A very questionable historical figure appears in this chapter. You have been warned.

Review replies;

**TweenisodeOrange:** Be afraid...be very afraid...XD. Thanks for reading!

**OddAuthor:** I was hoping for the Jimmy & Timmy scene to be touching, glad you thought it was! Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper:** He was under the butterfly net. His magic couldn't help heal him. :( Thanks very much!

**BANZAC:** Glad you liked my Spongebob characterization! Thanks for the review!

**

* * *

Chapter Four: Getting the Show on the Road**

As a military aircraft, Atkinson's plane did not land at Heathrow Airport. Instead, it landed at RAF Uxbridge, in the west of Greater London.

Unlike most of the Cave, Colonel Atkinson was not wanted by the United Nations. The German Government had provided an alibi (much to the disgruntlement of some of the politicians, who didn't want to be involved) for both himself and deserted troops from other nations – which, incidentally, included Sabre Team.

Therefore, when the group stepped off the plane, they were met by a squad of troops of the British Army, headed by a Captain.

"Captain," nodded Atkinson, "I suppose you'll be taking me to Whitehall?"

"Yes sir," nodded the captain.

"_Wonderful,"_ sighed Atkinson, dryly, "Here's hoping this goes well – we have enemies, captain."

"Understood, sir," replied the captain, "Private! Prepare the car!"

"Yes sir!" shouted one of the soldiers.

He began to snap into a salute, his hand coming up to his forehead, when an almighty bang echoed across the airbase. With a cry of pain, the soldier grabbed hold of his hand as his Captain slumped to the ground.

"_Sniper!_" somebody yelled.

Gavin immediately leant down over the captain, inspecting his head.

"It hit his forehead but it didn't penetrate," he informed, "The bullet lost its momentum going through that guy's hand."

"Obviously a trained shot," nodded Rourke, "He was aiming down the captain, trying to thin out the escort."

"Well, it won't work now," nodded Bishop, observing more soldiers running onto the runways, "There's too many of us to take down easily."

"Take it as a warning," nodded Atkinson, gravely, "Somebody doesn't want us here…"

He looked grimly at the unconscious captain before walking towards his ride.

* * *

Timmy felt his head spin as the Hovercraft landed softly in the sand. The craft was not the smoothest form of transport, and Sheen hadn't helped by rocking it – over and over again.

"Right," nodded Jimmy, climbing out of the Hovercraft, "Keep the Environment Protectors on you at all times, otherwise you'll drown."

"I've gotta say I'm pretty impressed at these," complimented Jazz, "You made these out of your dad's old walkmans?"

"Yep," grinned Jimmy, "He managed to break enough for me to make a whole set of these!"

"Yeah, you're a genius," said Norm, offhandedly, "Where're we gonna find this walking cheese anyway?"

"He's not a cheese, he's a sponge," corrected Jimmy.

"A _kitchen_ sponge," nodded Norm.

"Well…yeah," replied Jimmy, "Anyway, if my Positional Finding Mechanism is right, which it is, he should be five-hundred paces to the east."

He began to walk in that direction.

"Too good for a GPS, is he?" mused Norm.

"Lay off him," snapped Wanda, "I'd like to see you make one of those!"

"Oh, that's easy," grinned Norm, "I just use this _magic_ I possess – oh wait! I can't, nobody wished for it, next!"

As they began to walk, Jazz gave a sympathetic glance to the genie.

"Being a genie's that bad, is it?" she asked.

"Yep, I've only said _that_ one a thousand times," snapped Norm.

"Is there any way to free you – when this is all over, I mean?" enquired Jazz.

"Well, you'd think it would be as straightforward as wishing me free," shrugged Norm, "But _noooo_, genies don't work that way. There are two ways to get out of it – the sucky way, and the less sucky way."

"And those are?"

"Well, the sucky way is to destroy the lamp," replied Norm, "Unfortunately, that causes the genie to age relative to how long he's been hanging around. Most of us would be dead a hundred times over in that case."

"That sound's pretty harsh," nodded Jazz.

"Quite," nodded Norm, sardonically, "The less sucky way is to mate with another being and induct them into djinnhood – djinn being the word for genie in the traditional sense. Then you can appeal the Djinn Council for freedom to create a life for both of you – and that one's unattainable because most non-genies hate our collective guts."

"Why's that?" mused Jazz.

"Might be something to do with the wish twisting," replied Norm, "I mean, most genies are OK people, but it's just so much _fun_ to mess with the really selfish ones…and all the other ones as well, but I'm getting over that."

"We're nearly there," called Jimmy.

Jazz and Norm looked over the rise. Not far away, three 'houses', for lack of a better word, stood in a row. These were as follows; a rock with a television antenna, an Easter Island Head, and a pineapple, which Jimmy was pointing to.

"Well, moment of truth," shrugged Timmy, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea, huh?"

He received a few stares.

"Sorry, it just came to me," he nodded, sheepishly.

* * *

Spongebob was in his kitchen, preparing his dinner. As he did so, he sung a song he had made up, the Krabby Patty Making Song. Spongebob, however, was very devout in his work, and refused to state the formula to the Krabby Patty even in private, leading to a rather odd number.

"…then you get out the BEEP, and you put it on the BEEP, then you cover it all up with the BEEP and the BEEP…" he sung.

The doorbell rang.

"Coming!" he called out.

He ran to the door and opened it, finding Timmy's group looking slightly confused and just a little bit repulsed.

"Uh…did we get you at a bad time?" asked Timmy, awkwardly.

"Nah, not at all, I'm just making dinner!" grinned Spongebob, "Come on in!"

"It didn't _sound_ like you were making dinner," mumbled Sheen as they walked inside.

Spongebob led them into the kitchen, talking as he did so.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Spongebob.

"We're here about Freakshow," replied Timmy, "He's been trying to get you, hasn't he?"

Spongebob stopped for a minute.

"Yeah," he nodded at last, "Mr. Krabs fired me because of that."

"That wasn't your boss," warned Timmy, mentally taking note of Mr. Krabs' name, "That was a ghost called Bertrand in disguise. He works for Freakshow."

"So I'm _not_ fired?" quizzed Spongebob, hopefully.

"Not at all," grinned Timmy.

"YEEEEAAAAH!" cheered Spongebob.

There was a short silence.

"Anyone needs me, I'm gonna be watching the TV," said Norm at last, slipping into the lounge room.

"Me too," nodded Sheen, following the genie.

"Look," said Dani, "Mr. Krabs isn't the only ghost – there's the whale, what's her name…"

"Pearl?" mused Spongebob.

"Yeah," nodded Dani, "She's been overshadowed…means possessed…by another ghost, Penelope Spectra. The party she invited you to is a trap."

"So I shouldn't go, then?" enquired Spongebob.

"On the contrary, Spongebob," replied Jimmy, "You have to."

Spongebob looked confused.

"On the ship the party takes place," informed Timmy, "There's this diadem – it's for the Partner of the Balance."

"What's the Partner of the Balance?" asked Spongebob.

"Well, everything it says on the tin," shrugged Wanda, "The partner of the Balance between Good and Evil."

"…and who's the Balance?"

Timmy and Dani glanced at each other.

"Err…you are," replied Timmy, at last.

Spongebob blinked.

"Ohh," he nodded at last, "I'm the Balance between good and evil, and there's a guy who wants to enslave me, right?"

"Yep," nodded Cosmo, "And if he manages that, the whole multiverse gets destroyed!"

Spongebob nodded, a small grin on his face.

Then he fainted.

_

* * *

31__st__ April 1945._

That was the date imprinted on the hidden records aboard Cyclops.

On that day, Colonel Isak Showsenhower had made his way into the dark bunkers under the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, and into the poorly lit, drab corridors of the _Fuhrerbunker._

It would have been stupid at this point to deny it – these were the last days of the Third Reich. A ring of steel now surrounded in inner part of Berlin, as Soviet tanks and infantry pushed through the desperate last echelons of German defence – SS fanatics, elderly reservists and the children of the Hitler Youth. Neither side showed mercy.

In this little bunker, the last remaining members of the Nazi High Command had hid like rats trying to starve off their inevitable extermination for their crimes. Showsenhower would have read the reports that had infuriated the head of state just hours earlier – in attempts to save their own pitiful skins from the gallows, Goring and Himmler had attempted to negotiate peace with the Western Allies.

Showsenhower had arrived at his destination and met with his leader.

Adolf Hitler, at this point, was little more then a walking, breathing corpse. He had spent his last years in denial – believing that some miracle, that some _wunderwaffe_ would rain hell on his enemies, that he would triumph. Now, the wretched leader of the carcass that had once been Nazi Germany had finally woken to reality.

He had given orders that Germany be defended to the very last man, that the whole nation be brought down in flames, before retiring to his office to wallow in self-pity.

Showsenhower had not come to give his Fuhrer pity. He knew that the only way to save his hide was to co-operate with the Allies, and he intended to make his way to the Elbe River and surrender to the Americans. First, however, he intended to take something.

After a short discussion, Hitler had given Showsenhower an armband – one that had never once been worn. During the conversation, the Fuhrer had informed Showsenhower of his intent to kill himself – he had shrugged it off.

Once the conversation had finished, Showsenhower left the Fuhrerbunker and, disguised as a Soviet infantryman, had made his way to the Elbe, where he surrendered to the 101st Airborne Division. He was tried for war crimes, and sentenced to five years prison. After this, he moved to the United States and gave birth to his son.

Frederick Isak Showsenhower finished reading the file before putting it back in the cabinet. Smirking, he held the armband in his hand, and walked away to summon Lydia.


	6. Chapter 5: Plans Within Plans

I hope you like text.

Review replies;

**unknown20troper:** Thanks for reviewing! I figured that there had to be a more substantial way to free a genie then 'right, guv, wish you were free.' :)

**OddAuthor:** Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked my conversation.

**BANZAC:** His hand shall be respected for all time. :( Thanks for the review!

**

* * *

Chapter Five: Plans Within Plans**

Colonel Atkinson walked down the stairs, humming softly to himself. With a smirk, he opened the door to an office.

"Mr. Harker, I presume?" he introduced.

Reginald Harker, the head of Mi6, turned to face his visitor.

"Atkinson!" he grinned, "Good to see you again! How's Berlin been treating you?"

"Um…good enough," replied Atkinson, abruptly, "Ahem…anyway, have you gathered the House of Commons?"

"Have indeed, Atkinson," nodded Harker, "They'll be meeting tomorrow evening."

"Good, good," Atkinson answered, "Hopefully they'll listen to me…"

* * *

"…so I'm the Balance between good and evil, and I have to find a partner?" mused Spongebob, sitting on his bed with a thoughtful expression.

"Yep," nodded Timmy, "And you have to do both these things by tomorrow night."

"It'll be easy," grinned Jimmy, "We already know where the diadem is, so you just have to find a partner – someone you really trust."

"Someone who would never betray you," added Jazz.

Spongebob put on a thoughtful expression, his memory flashing back…

* * *

"_Hey Pat!" asked Spongebob, walking up to his friend at the bus stop, "Can you look after my bus ticket? I gotta use the bathroom."_

"_Sure thing, buddy!" grinned Patrick._

"_Thanks," nodded Spongebob, and he ran to the public restrooms. While he was gone, another fish walked up to Patrick._

"_Hey, I'll give you fifty cents for that ticket," he offered._

"_Done," replied Patrick, handing over Spongebob's ticket._

* * *

The flashback ended, and Spongebob nodded.

"They've gotta be someone you could tell anything," added Dani.

Spongebob put on a thoughtful expression, his memory flashing back…

* * *

"_Mr. Krabs, can I tell you something?" asked Spongebob, looking through the serving window at the Krusty Krab._

"_Talk away, me boy!" grinned Mr. Krabs._

"_Thanks," nodded Spongebob, "You see, I was walking Gary the other day, and when we passed Squidward's place, he ate his bills."_

"_Don't worry, Spongebob," said Mr. Krabs, winking, "I won't be telling him."_

_Spongebob grinned, and left the room. Mr. Krabs waited a few seconds, before calling out._

"_Mister Squidward! I've found out who ate ye bills!"_

* * *

The flashback ended, and Spongebob nodded.

"Most of all, it's got to be someone who will be patient and calm no matter what happens," finished Wanda.

Spongebob put on a thoughtful expression, his memory flashing back…

* * *

"_Spongebob!" snapped Squidward, leaning out his window._

"_Spongebob!" shouted Squidward, pulling a net off his head._

"_Spongebob!" snarled Squidward, aggravated as he wiped a pie off his face._

_In fact, these flashbacks were by-and-by-large the same thing._

"_Spongebob! Spongebob! SPONGEBOB! Spongebob! Sigh…Spongebob. Spongebob! SPONGEBOB! Spongebob… Spongebob! _SPONGEBOB!_"_

_The final image was of Squidward standing in a crater between a rock and a pineapple._

"_SPONGE…BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOB!"_

* * *

The flashback ended, and Spongebob nodded.

"Got you," he nodded, "Someone who I trust!"

He paused for a minute.

"I'm stumped."

"Well, let's see," nodded Jimmy, "List your friends."

"There's Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, the mailman, the guy at the Barg N' Mart, that guy…"

"We'll just stick with the first four," said Wanda, quickly.

"Yeah," added Jimmy, "Now, which one of them do you trust the most?"

Spongebob considered this for another moment.

Patrick was his best friend, yes, but he wasn't exactly the brightest of the bunch – and he wasn't much of an adventurer, really (he liked sleeping, eating and jellyfishing more.)

Mr. Krabs was close, almost to the point of being fatherly – but he often asked for payment and Spongebob hadn't finished paying his IOU from most of their other adventures.

Squidward…

A small, nasally voice echoed in the back of his head – "No."

That left Sandy.

Sandy certainly liked adventure – she liked it quite a lot. She also wouldn't charge for her services, which was always a bonus, and was one of Spongebob's closest friends. Perhaps more – but Spongebob considered he was being silly again.

"I know who my partner'll be," beamed Spongebob.

"Great!" grinned Timmy, "We'll go get 'em then…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Jimmy, waving his hands, "It's nearly ten pm. We've got all of tomorrow ahead of us! Given what we're gonna do tomorrow, we'll need rest."

"He's right," nodded Wanda, soberly, "No need to panic anyone, but tomorrow could be our last day on earth. We have to savour it – there's no point running around trying to save the world so much you forget to live, Timmy."

Timmy nodded.

"Alright, we'll do everything on the _Arkansas,"_ he decided, "Spongebob, you know a place to stay?"

"You can stay here if you want!" replied Spongebob, brightly, "It'll be fun!"

"Thanks, man," thanked Timmy, "Thanks a lot."

* * *

"This is our main archives, Lieutenant," nodded Harker, leading Bishop into a filing room, "It's the Section for Historical Irregularity Tracking."

"Nice name," nodded Bishop, wryly, "Smooth."

"Why, thank you," beamed Harker, without any insincerity in his voice, "Anyway, all records in Thames House are open to you. Some of them still smell terrible from…well…the _thing_ that will not be mentioned…"

Harker's eyes shifted.

"…but there's nothing we don't want you to see here," finished Harker, "We moved our sensitive records to Wales, anyway."

"Thanks," grinned Bishop, "We start looking for our sniper, then."

"Good, good!" replied Harker, "Have fun."

Bishop rolled his eyes as the Head of Mi6 left the room. As soon as he was gone, Bishop opened a file marked 'known F.I.N.A.L. operatives', and picked out a paper.

"Right," he called into his radio, "I think we've got the guy. Designated Marksman Henry Lee Enfield, part of a three-man entourage to a General Stone."

"_Three man?"_ mused Rourke, over the radio, _"Who're the other two?"_

"Rifleman Smith Wesson," replied Bishop, "Their led by Team Leader Avtomat Kalashnikov, and their team's designated Group 47."

"_Avtomat Kalashnikov, Group 47,"_ chuckled Gavin, _"AK-47. I'll eat my hat if that's his real name."_

"These guys look serious, Gavin," warned Bishop, "We'll probably have to deal with them tomorrow…"


	7. Chapter 6: The Last Day

Right, lads...and lasses. This is the last chapter before the bit before the bit before the climax. That mean we're maybe, what, 2.5/6 of the way through. Gimme five!

Review replies;

**TweenisodeOrange:** Well, Freakshow isn't a Nazi, but his dad was. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**unknown20troper:** Glad you liked 'em! Thanks for reading!

**OddAuthor:** I'm glad you liked the puns - I thought they were a bit cheesy, myself. Thanks very much!

**BANZAC:** That's because Harker _is_ a pompous idiot. Thanks for the review!  
**

* * *

Chapter Six: The Last Day**

Despite it being around five-thirty in the morning, the capital of Great Britain was already becoming busy with traffic. In a small, rudimentary office overlooking the River Thames, Colonel Atkinson and Lieutenant Bishop looked outside the window as the first rays of sunlight began to shine over the London cityscape.

"Morning," mused Atkinson, "Today's the day."

"It is," nodded Bishop, "By tomorrow, we'll either be dead or victorious."

"Indeed," agreed Atkinson, "Makes you think, doesn't it?"

There was a long silence.

"Alright," said Atkinson, eventually, "I'll be making a decoy meeting with Harker and the Prime Minister on the East End during the day. You'll be providing overwatch with a squad of the 33rd Regiment."

"Understood, sir, we won't let you down," grinned Bishop.

"I bloody well hope not," replied Atkinson, grimly.

The sun peaked over the buildings on the other side of the Thames, and the sunlight poured into the room.

* * *

Chester McBadbat was sleeping under a tree in the Neutron's backyard as the sun rose over the distant horizon.

"Rise and shine, Chester."

Chester opened a sleepy eye, and found Molly standing over him, arms crossed.

"What time is it?" demanded Chester, groggily.

"Five thirty," replied Valerie, who was to the side of Jimmy's clubhouse, "Time to start training."

"_Training?_"

Vlad Masters stepped out of the clubhouse, chuckling.

"This is your last day on Earth, and you're worried about training?" he sniggered, "Well, congratulations, you've officially grown up."

Chester shot the older man a glare.

The sun peeked over the mountains, covering the backyard in golden light.

"Look at all this," observed Vlad, "The sun, the sky, our entire planet – this could be the last time you ever see it. Enjoy it while it lasts."

He shook his head, and walked back inside.

"What a pri-" began Chester.

"He's right," nodded Valerie, sombrely, "This could be the last day of our lives. We should savour it."

Molly and Chester both glared at her.

"Well, _I'm_ going to savour it," decided Valerie, "I'll see you tonight – I'm going back to sleep for a few hours."

Valerie turned around and walked back into the clubhouse.

Chester rolled his eyes.

* * *

Timmy blinked as he stepped out of the bathroom, feeling the warming water around his skin. It was a nice feeling, really – but Timmy didn't dwell on it.

He began to walk back to Spongebob's guest room (yes, he had one), when his attention was caught to the window.

The entire sky was a reddish-yellow, with a small, shimmering golden orb peaking over the horizon. The entire town of Bikini Bottom was covered in the early morning rays of sunlight. It was peaceful.

"Morning, Timmy!"

Timmy turned around to find Spongebob, already fully dressed and ready for his day.

"You're up at five thirty?" quizzed Timmy.

"Yep," nodded Spongebob, "I'm usually up at this hour for work! Anyway, what're you looking at?"

Timmy glanced out the window.

"Meh, nothing," he shrugged at last, "Nothing at all."

He pushed nagging thoughts on his own existence to the back of his head and headed down to the guest room.

* * *

Bishop looked at his watch. It read 8:30. This meant Atkinson and Harker would be meeting with the Prime Minister, and that the troops from the 33rd were in place.

"It's Showtime," he called over the radio.

He looked over the warehouse they would be meeting in. It didn't look like a place to meet with a world leader – but then, this wasn't an official meeting. Atkinson and Harker were already entering, walking towards the man who had already arrived.

Prime Minister Percy James stood in the warehouse, flanked by two suited bodyguards. He didn't look pleased, his hazel eyes narrowed at the other two men as he adjusted his tie.

"Colonel," he growled, "Please excuse the lack of formalities, but what do you want?"

"I come from the Bundeswehr," replied Atkinson, coolly.

"Don't play dumb with me, Atkinson," snapped James, "I know you're here for the bloody Cave. British Intelligence aren't complete idiots, you know."

"That's a surprise," grumbled Atkinson.

"State your business, or get out," demanded James.

"Fine," nodded Atkinson, "I'm sure you're aware of Cyclops?"

"It's a UN mandate," scoffed James, "Great Britain has just as much control of it as the United States…"

"Which equals to 'sod all', Mr. Prime Minister," interrupted Atkinson, "This isn't a matter of NATO or the UN anymore. Cyclops is controlled by Showsenhower and F.I.N.A.L., and I doubt they care for Washington, never mind you."

Bishop heard crackling from his radio.

"_This is Sergeant Flint, just giving you the heads up that we're shifting to the observation office_."

"Roger that," replied Bishop, "We'll keep watch until you shift."

* * *

Sergeant Flint's contingent of troops numbered eight men – Corporals Damon and Lawrence, and Privates Harris, Crawford, Jennings, Webber and Carter. At this point they were heading through the small hallways of the offices behind the warehouse.

"Sir, I heard movement," observed Corporal Lawrence.

"Understood," nodded Sergeant Flint, "Crawford, Webber, you're on point."

"Yes sir," Crawford and Webber answered.

The two soldiers moved around a corner, making as little noise as possible.

For a few minutes, Flint waited for them to report back in, before getting out his radio.

"Crawford, come in," he ordered.

There was no reply.

"All right, Jennings, cover our rear, we're moving upstairs."

"Roger that," nodded Jennings.

Leaving Jennings behind, the remaining members of the squad made their way up the stairwell, arriving at their floor. There, they were quickly taken aback.

Crawford and Webber lay against the wall, heavy cuts – obviously made by a blade – spread across their chests and heads.

"Oh my god," gasped Private Carter.

"Jennings," radioed Flint, "Crawford and Webber are down, get up here."

A short pause – but no reply.

"Crap, I think they got Jennings as well," whispered Flint, "OK, we're sticking together, no sound, hand signals only until contact."

The remains of the squad scurried up the hallway, past several eerily empty offices.

Then there was a bang, and both Harris and Lawrence went down. Flint turned around, and saw a soldier standing in a doorway, a revolver in his hands – and two holes in the heads of his soldiers.

"_Contact!_" he yelled.

A door at the end of the hallway was kicked open, and a grinning trooper – warning a F.I.N.A.L. uniform, Flint noticed – fired a burst from his gun. Damon fell onto his back, taking the full burst into his stomach. The sound of another door kicked open filled the corridor, as yet another F.I.N.A.L. soldier broke from the stairwell, a bayoneted rifle in his hand.

"Keep the private alive," snapped the man who had shot Damon, "The officer is of no use to the Elite!"

"What…who the hell are you?" demanded Flint.

"Group 47, comrade," replied the man, "Now…_Dosvidanya._"

He fired another burst.

* * *

"Flint, any word on the shift?" asked Bishop, calling into his radio.

"_Got nothing over here, sir," _radioed Gavin.

"I don't like this," muttered Bishop, "It can't take ten minutes to shift one floor."

"_Maybe they're just incredibly incompetent?_" mused Rourke.

"The PM wouldn't surround himself with incompetents," replied Bishop, "I think we're dealing with spec ops."

He glanced back down to the meeting.

"…you're a madman, Atkinson!" barked the Prime Minister, "F.I.N.A.L. aren't the bloody SS, they're a legitimate United Nations force!"

"Maybe you should have looked at what you were signing, then!" growled Atkinson.

"Enough! I'm sick of this!" snapped James, "I don't care what you think, Colonel, but as long as I'm Prime Minister we will not be-"

BOOM!

A thunderous crack filled the warehouse, causing the Prime Minister to let out a high pitched shriek and dive to the ground.

Almost immediately, Sabre Team responded. Aiming his Stinger missile launcher, Rourke fired a rocket at the observation office. The rocket made direct contact, and the office exploded.

Seeing a silhouette of a man running from the wrecked office, Gavin fired a single shot from his rifle. With a loud bang, the silhouette fell to the ground.

Running down the catwalk towards the office, Bishop ducked under a hole in the wall and leant over the dead man…

…at which point the dead man lifted his arm and attempted to throttle him.

Gasping for breath, Bishop booted the man's face, before freeing himself from the stranglehold. Seizing his chance, the man uppercut the Lieutenant, knocking him to the ground.

"We will meet again, _tovarish_," the man warned.

He climbed to his feet and ran from the room, ignoring a large wound in his right arm.

Shaking his head, Bishop gazed at the spot where the man once lay as Atkinson, Harker and Prime Minister James ran up.

"He left his dog tags," he breathed.

Atkinson picked up the tags and read them out.

"Team Leader Avtomat Kalashnikov, Serial Number 09864, Group 47, F.I.N.A.L."

"F.I.N.A.L." murmured James, "By god…F.I.N.A.L. just tried to kill me…"

"Actually, I believe that shot was aimed at me," shrugged Atkinson, matter-of-factly.

James' face turned to a scowl.

"Alright then, Colonel, I believe you," he growled, "That doesn't mean I'm giving you military assets without the support of the House."

"I intend to ask for an executive solution," grinned Atkinson.

"Good luck trying," snapped James, "I'm not budging."

He marched from the room, muttering to himself.

"Looks like we just met AK," grinned Bishop, "Think we'll see him on Cyclops."

"Almost certainly," nodded Atkinson.

"Well, I'm looking forward to the rematch," said Bishop, confidently, "Should be pretty good."

He chuckled to himself as he walked away.

* * *

Clockwork watched the whole day from his castle, deep in the Ghost Zone.

He watched as Chester and Molly trained, their faces set like stone. By now, they had even gone so far as to train in firearms, something that made Clockwork somewhat sad. In war, innocence was first casualty.

He watched Valerie, Tucker, Sanjay, Ember, Skulker and Technus hang around the Candy Bar, Skulker terrifying practically everyone with his appearance. Around three thirty, they were joined by Carl, Cindy and Libby, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing minigolf. Clockwork had grinned at the image of the giant behemoth known as Skulker trying to gently putt a golf ball.

He watched as Spongebob led his newly acquired friends across Bikini Bottom, introducing them to practically everybody (they ran into Squidward six times). He had then taken them (and Patrick) to Jellyfish Fields for the afternoon. At this, Clockwork allowed himself an open chuckle, both at Jazz's poor attempts to jellyfish to Sheen's newfound talent in it. He also noted that Norm, despite looking bored on the outside, was actually quite enjoying himself.

He watched Sabre Team being allowed an afternoon to London. They looked almost odd in civilian clothing, sitting in a local fast food outlet and just talking like normal people. There were a few sullen mentions of the deceased Sergeants Baker and Morrissey, but for the most part, they were without a care in the world.

Clockwork then thought to the evening that awaited them.

He let out a heavy sigh.

"Everything is as it should be," he assured himself, "Everything is as it should be…"

He said no more that day.


	8. Chapter 7: Formalities and Imformalities

I'd probably write a lot quicker if I didn't start singing about every typo I got. :P

Review replies;

**TweenisodeOrange:** Oh, he's knows whats comin' next. *evil laugh* Thanks for reading!

**OddAuthor:** War is a terrible thing, really. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**unknown20troper:** Well, Vlad and Clockwork are coolness machines! XD Thanks for reviewing!

**BANZAC:** I'm glad you like my humour. Thanks very much!  
**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Formalities and Informalities**

The sun was now beginning to droop low over Bikini Bottom. Spongebob had led Timmy and company back to his house to prepare for the party. Of course, by party, they meant continuation of the ongoing battle between Light and Dark. Nobody was really looking forward to it.

"Are you sure they'll let us in?" asked Jazz, as they walked in the front door, "We were never invited…"

"Freakshow will probably be there," replied Timmy, "I have a feeling he might want a little talk with me."

"What makes you think that?" mused Norm, "Did you get it by Shade Mail?"

Timmy rolled his eyes.

"No," he replied, "We passed Bertrand twice today. If Freakshow had wanted us out of the way, he would have made his move then. He's waiting for us."

"Wouldn't that give him the advantage?" quizzed Dani.

"Dani, Dani, Dani," grinned Sheen, shaking his head, "Everyone knows that when we have a disadvantage, we win!"

"What about the _Ark_?" asked Dani, bitterly.

For a minute, nobody spoke.

Then Spongebob grinned.

"Alright, I guess we've got an hour to prepare for the party, so…yeah…lets go prepare," he stuttered.

He grinned rather uneasily and walked up the stairs.

Timmy and Jimmy watched as he walked into his room.

"You think he's scared?" asked Timmy.

"Were you?" enquired Jimmy.

"The first time? Yeah," replied Timmy, "I mean, y'know, M.E.R.F. just destroyed my house, I was…"

"Not that," corrected Jimmy, "Were you scared the first time you met Dani?"

Timmy was silent for a few moments.

"Yeah," he said at last, "I was pretty scared. Then I talked to AJ, and he…well, _actually_ he didn't help, but he sorta did help and…"

Timmy held his head.

"I dunno," he said at last, "It was confusing."

"Well then, go up there and confuse him," grinned Jimmy, winking.

Timmy stood for a minute, before nodding and climbing up the stairs.

* * *

"Cosmo, stop fidgeting!" snapped Wanda.

"I can't…you're…trying to strangle me!" accused Cosmo.

"Cosmo, you wear a necktie every day," sighed Wanda, "This is the same thing, except its green."

Wanda finished doing Cosmo's tie, and looked over her handiwork. Cosmo was now wearing a lime green tuxedo, and looking thoroughly miserable.

"What's wrong, hun?" asked Wanda.

"It's all tight and fidgety," replied Cosmo, "And it makes me look funny."

"Here," grinned Wanda, holding her wand up.

With a poof of smoke, a lime green fedora appeared on Cosmo's head.

"There, now you look good," she compliment.

"I don't get it," said Cosmo, confused.

"It's the gangster look," replied Wanda, "I thought you might like it…"

"Gangster!" exclaimed Cosmo, "Does that mean I can rap?"

"Uh…wrong kind of gangster, Cosmo," corrected Wanda.

"Oh, right," nodded Cosmo, "Are you gonna get changed?"

"I already _got_ changed," replied Wanda, pointing at herself.

She had changed into a long, sleeveless, pink dress, with a necklace she had found somewhere in the fishbowl castle.

"Oh, I see what you did there," mused Cosmo, squinting.

Wanda gave a small smile, and rolled her eyes.

* * *

Norm gave an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, I know I've done of lot of bad things," he groaned, "But I did nothing to make me deserve _this_."

He turned away from the bathroom mirror. He was wearing a brown vest over a shirt and bowtie, with long, grey pants. His face was almost comically deadpan.

"I think you look good," shot Jazz, "You're not saying you never get tired of that blue vest thing you always wear?"

"No," replied Norm, "That's why I always wear it."

"C'mon, Norm," grinned Jazz, "You look attractive!"

"Attractive as in 'chick magnet' or attractive as in 'I'm-lying-to-make-you-feel-better'?" asked Norm, rolling his eyes.

"The former," replied Jazz.

"You'd better be right," mumbled Norm.

"Am I ever not?" chuckled Jazz.

"D'you want a list?" grumbled Norm.

Jazz shook her head, but gave a short laugh.

* * *

"Hey, Spongebob, can I come in?"

"Uh…yeah!" replied Spongebob, opening the door to his room, "I was just…arranging my socks."

Timmy glanced at Spongebob's bed. Exactly two pairs of socks – both pairs exactly the same – sat on his bed.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" chuckled Timmy.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no…yes," admitted Spongebob.

"Wanna talk about it?" offered Timmy.

Spongebob nodded, sitting on his bed.

"It's just that…Sandy was the first girl I every really met," explained Spongebob, "Apart from Mom and Grandma and that girl in high school who tried to sue Pat that one time…"

"…yeah, let's not talk about that," said Timmy, quickly.

"…and now I'm actually going on a date instead of just…y'know…hanging out, it's really kinda scary," finished Spongebob.

Timmy gave a little grin.

"There are some things even geniuses can't solve," he reassured, "I'm here for you, buddy, but…some things, you have to work out for yourself."

His grin faded, replaced by a sad look.

"An old friend told me that, three years ago," he sighed, "It was all so simple back then. You don't know what I'd do to get that world back."

He murmured a sentence to himself.

"Remember this – when you turn on a light, the dark goes away. The dark always goes away – _but the light always survives._"

He sat for a moment, and then shook his head.

"What I'm saying is, for every bad thing that happens in life, there's a good thing to balance it," he finished, "A lot of bad stuff's gonna happen tonight – there's gonna have to be something good to balance it out."

Spongebob nodded.

"I guess so," he decided.

"So," grinned Timmy, "You ready?"

"I'm ready," nodded Spongebob, quietly.

"What was that?" asked Timmy.

"_I'M READY!"_ boomed Spongebob.

Timmy was taken aback.

"O…k, I think you're good to go," he said.

Spongebob grinned.

* * *

"_OK, here's the plan."_

Timmy's earlier words were still running through Spongebob's head. He had rounded them up before they'd left, filling them in with their roles aboard the _Arkansas_.

"_Jimmy and Sheen have been signed on as butlers…aw, c'mon Sheen, neither of you have dates, it's either this or janitors…they'll head behind and keep an eye out for Freakshow._"

"_Jazz, Norm, Cosmo and Wanda will head straight in the front – your job is to keep an eye on Spectra and Bertrand."_

"_Spongebob, Dani, you stick with me. I'll tell you your part when we get to the Treedome."_

Now they were here.

Spongebob nervously walked up to the door. Shaking, he moved his hand over the doorbell.

He hesitated for a second.

He hesitated for another second.

Then Dani slammed her hand on the doorbell.

"There you go," she grinned, "Now we're gonna go hide."

Timmy and Dani ran behind a nearby rock.

"What? Oh, not again!" cursed Spongebob.

The door opened.

"Howdy, Spongebob!" grinned Sandy.

Spongebob was taken aback.

Sandy was wearing her air helmet, which was pretty standard, given the environment. However, she had replaced her normal air suit for an emerald dress and sandals. Her flower, normally worn on her helmet, was now worn behind her left ear.

"Uh…I've…never seen that before," he stammered.

He adjusted his tie. He, admittedly, had done little in the way of formality, finding an old navy blue overcoat and pants in his drawers.

"Well, it is a formal party," shrugged Sandy, "Figured I might do somethin' different for it."

"Uh…Sandy, I need to tell you something," said Spongebob, blushing a little.

"Sure," replied Sandy, "What is it?"

"I think I can explain this part."

Timmy walked out from behind the rock. Sandy gave an amused look – few boys wore pink tuxedos as formal wear, after all. Then she realised that he was human.

"I'm Timmy Turner," introduced Timmy, "And I'm afraid Spongebob's been caught up in an epic struggle between good and evil."

Sandy stared for a moment.

"Again?" she said at last.

"It gets worse," continued Timmy, "It turns out he's the Balance between Light and Dark, if you get what I mean. It's from his ability to treat everyone without prejudice, I think. I met Spongebob yesterday evening and I told him the whole story."

He paused.

"The party tonight is a trap to capture Spongebob."

Sandy stood for a moment.

"Y'know, funny thing is, I believe you," she decided.

"Anyway, Sponge…"

"I can say this," blurted Spongebob.

All eyes fell on him.

"It's just…well…every…Shade thingy needs a…a partner," he stuttered, "And the thing I need to make a partner is at the party…and…err…"

"Go on," nudged Timmy.

"…the partner is the person you trust the most and…and I choose you, Sandy."

There was another long silence.

"Why me?" asked Sandy, at last, "I thought you trusted Patrick more then…"

"No," replied Spongebob, "I trust Pat, but not as much as I trust you. I…I think I l…"

"I get it," nodded Sandy, a small smile appearing on her face, "I'll be your partner, Spongebob."

She embraced Spongebob in a long hug, as Timmy and Dani looked on.

"Wow, magical," nodded Timmy, "When're we going?"

Dani chuckled, and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"…I understand what you are talking about, Colonel, but what you are asking about will not go down well with the House of Commons."

"If I may be excused for the language – sod the House. This is the entire planet we're talking about. The USAF and European air forces are in on it by now – why not Britain?"

"Hmm… one supposes we can respond without Parliament's approval, if it saves the world as you say it will, Colonel Atkinson."

"I would not reject if I were them…it is, after all, called the _Royal_ Air Force, your majesty," grinned Colonel Atkinson.

"Quite," nodded the Queen, turning to one of the Grenadier Guardsmen behind her, "Radio the Air Marshal – scramble the RAF, post-haste."

"Aye, mam," replied the Guardsman, saluting.

The red-coated man marched from the Queen's throne room in Buckingham Palace, as Atkinson barely suppressed a large grin.

* * *

**Authors Note: **If I made anyone squee in this chapter, I shall hi-five someone.


	9. Chapter 8: Dusk

I'm not sure whether or not the ending of this chapter qualifies this story for M or not. I reckon it makes a T, but feedback requested.

Review replies;

**TweenisodeOrange:** To be honest, I'm not sure myself. ?:. Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper: **Glad you liked 'em, thanks for reviewing!

**OddAuthor:** Glad you liked the character development - and I must say, I'm quite a Spongebob/Sandy shipper, if I do say so myself! :D. Thanks!

**BANZAC:** Who knows? He could be making cheese in Kazakhastan! XD Thanks for the review!  
**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Dusk**

Sabre Team was assembled on a small airstrip just beyond the outskirts of Greater London. Alongside them were troops of the German and British armies, as well as the Cave's troops shuffling somewhat anxiously next to several helicopters.

"Alright guys, front and centre," ordered Bishop.

The troops gathered around him.

"In an hour or so, we're gonna be given an order to board the choppers," he explained, "Once we are aboard them, there is no going back. We're going straight up to Cyclops."

He glanced over the men.

"Many of us will not return," he said, gravely, "But many of you have been here since the beginning. Many of you have seen your fellow soldiers, your comrades, your brothers in arms killed and tortured by Freakshow's men. Now, you can return the favour."

"M.E.R.F., F.A.I.R., F.I.N.A.L., they're all just names," he barked, "This is the same enemy that we started fighting three years ago. This is the Dark – true evil. This is what wrought destruction on the City of New York, this is what ground the Pacific Coasts to dust, this is the most potent enemy humanity has and – and _will _ever face."

He paused, impressively.

"Therefore, I am going to offer you a choice," he finished, "Anyone who does not want to join the assault on Cyclops, stand forth now. You will be honourably decommissioned from the task, and will be allowed to honourably return home."

There was a long silence.

"This is your last chance," said Bishop, in a low tone, "Does anybody want to go home?"

There was another long silence, but nobody stepped forward.

"Good," nodded Bishop, "I'll see you on the choppers."

* * *

The _Arkansas'_ wreck was not too far from the Treedome, but it was still a long walk. By the time they arrived, the sun was dipping below the horizon, and streetlamps had already been turned on.

The _Arkansas_ herself was upside down, decorated in some places with bright lamps but in other places completely dark. She did not look pretty – her hull was twisted and charred, and she looked more like a great metal slug then a battleship.

A warning sign had been placed at the door.

_All visitors to the Outer Bikini Bottom Auditorium are reminded that most of the human ship is heavily radioactive. Please do not attempt to venture further into the vessel. That is all._

"Why would you turn a nuked ship into an auditorium?" mused Timmy.

"Welcome to Bikini Bottom," shrugged Sandy.

"Right," nodded Timmy, bringing out a radio, "Turner to Neutron; I am at the door. How's it going in there?"

"_Neutron to Turner; not good. Freakshow and Lydia are here – Lydia's got this armband on…it's a Nazi one with the Swastika painted out, instead it's got a black dot."_

"The Armband for the Dark," gasped Timmy, "He's already way ahead of us!"

"_It gets worse,"_ continued Jimmy, _"Spectra and Bertrand are in the back. I don't know what they're do…whoa._"

"Jimmy, what is it?" asked Timmy, concerned.

"_Get in here - now._"

Timmy ran for the door. Literally crashing through it, he ran down the hallway to the main corridor. The door at the end was shimmering with a black light.

_Black_ light?

Dark Magic.

Timmy raced into the room, to find the main auditorium deserted. Deserted, that is, save for Cosmo, Wanda, Jazz, Norm – and a lot of unconscious fish.

"What the?" gasped Timmy, "What did he do?"

"I drained their life energy, Turner."

Timmy glanced at the stage, his eyes narrowed.

"Freakshow," he growled.

"Ah, Timmy Turner, haven't seen you since that swamp in Missouri!" noted Freakshow, "How is Buxaplenty?"

"Dead," growled Timmy.

"Oh yes – I forgot," grinned Freakshow, "Anyway, do you like my handiwork? Who needs to poison the food when you have magic?"

Jazz took her hand off one fish's neck.

"No pulse," she breathed, "You killed them."

"I did indeed!" beamed Freakshow, "It's good to get recognition from someone!"

"Enough of this, Freakshow," snarled Spectra, marching into the stage. She was still possessing Pearl.

"Pearl?" mused Sandy, confused.

"Possessed by ghost," replied Dani, "Explain later."

"I still want my misery," growled Spectra, "It's hard to get that from dead people."

"Don't worry," shrugged Freakshow, "There's plenty more…ahem…fish in the sea!"

"There'd better be," snapped Spectra, as Bertrand, still disguised as Mr. Krabs, walked onto the stage, "Bertrand, I want you to go get that crab. We can at least extract some despair from him and his daughter when we're done."

"I'm afraid I can't, Ms. Spectra," replied Bertrand, coolly.

"What?" demanded Spectra, "Why not?"

Bertrand grinned.

"Because he's already here," sneered Eugene H. Krabs.

A look of incomprehension passed over Spectra's face. Then it was replaced by realization, and horror.

"Now, I'm gonna removed the ghost from ye, Pearl," continued Mr. Krabs, "Navy style."

Mr. Krabs lunged at Spectra, tackling her to the ground in a quick tackle. Pinning her to the ground, he pulled something from his back pocket.

"Eat up," he grinned.

He slammed the Blood Blossom into Spectra's mouth, forcing her to swallow. Her throat inflamed, Spectra screamed, losing her grip on Pearl's body and landing on the floorboards of the stage.

"I'd recommend ye surrender as well, ye sorry landlubber," snapped Mr. Krabs, "There's plenty of those things to go round."

"Oh, Mr. Krabs, do you mistake me for a ghost?" chuckled Freakshow.

"No, I know yer not a ghost," replied Mr. Krabs, "But yer assistant is!"

He pointed to Lydia.

"Good point," nodded Freakshow, "Lydia, return to Cyclops and hand Protocol 17 to General Stone. I'll deal with these buffoons."

Lydia nodded, and vanished.

"Now," sneered Freakshow, "prepare to…"

"You'll have to get past me, first!"

All eyes turned to the door.

A bespectacled, hunchbacked man, wearing a shirt and tie and packing an impressive arsenal of fairy hunting gear, was standing in the doorway, pointing at Freakshow.

"_Crocker?_" exclaimed Timmy.

"Turner," snapped Crocker, "I'll hold him off – you go get the diadem."

Timmy stared.

"Are you _sure_ this guy is Crocker?" he said at last.

"I had an epiphany," growled Crocker, "Now go!"

Crocker brought out a large bazooka-like device and, laughing insanely, fired at Freakshow, who produced a black magic shield.

Timmy, Dani, Spongebob and Sandy ran for the kitchen.

* * *

Jimmy and Sheen were standing in the kitchen, looking down a small hole in the wall. Jimmy was holding a PDA-like device to the opening as the group ran in.

"Jimmy, which way to the amulet?" asked Timmy.

"Through there," replied Jimmy, pointing at the hole, "I wouldn't recommend going that way."

"Why not?" demanded Timmy.

"The curie count through there is astronomical," explained Jimmy, "Freakshow must've increased it. It'd be near instant death to..."

"I'm going in there," scowled Timmy.

"Timmy, the environment protector will only hold of radioactivity for five minutes," warned Jimmy, "It can't be…"

"I'm going," snapped Timmy.

"Timmy," said Jimmy, seriously, "If you go in there, you will die."

Timmy stood for a moment.

"I'm going," he said at last.

Jimmy nodded, solemnly.

"Wait, Timmy, you don't have to…" began Dani.

Timmy was already crawling into the hole.

* * *

Crocker was losing.

Freakshow had him cornered, his blows powered by Dark Magic. He was treating the fight as if it were an uninteresting sport, his face dull of expression.

Crocker attempted to swing at his head with the 'Anti-Magic Baton' (essentially a giant bat), only for Freakshow to effortlessly block it, rolling his eyes.

Then Freakshow felt someone break a glass over the back of his head.

He turned on the spot to find Mr. Krabs looking surprised that he wasn't out.

"I'm sorry, what did you intend that to do?" asked Freakshow.

He grinned, and booted Mr. Krabs in the stomach.

* * *

Timmy crawled to the end of the hole, and jumped out. Glancing at his watch (two minutes), he scanned the floor for the diadem.

At last, he found something shining next to a pile of rubble. Grinning, he picked it up.

It was the diadem – a simple thing, with a small emerald jewel at the front. It was dusty, but it did not register as radioactive on the environment protector – in fact, it was clean.

Timmy turned around, and made for the door.

"Not so fast, Turner."

Timmy turned around, his eyes wide.

"R-R-Remy?" he stammered.

Remy Buxaplenty was standing in the room – but he was not a pleasant sight. A large, dried up hole sat in the middle of his forehead. His clothes were ripped and ruined, and he was covered in green algae.

"Not quite," replied Remy, "We come from your mind."

Several other bodies – for lack of a better word – rose from the ground. There was Tad, with the bones on his back showing. There were Elmer and Trixie, reduced to clothes and bones entirely. There was Sergeant Baker, his head simply a skull, and Morrissey covered in burnt skin. There was Chad, his skin practically rags over his skeleton and innards. There was AJ, covered in burns and scars, and Vicky, merely a face on a skeleton. There was Sam, a great gaping hole in her stomach…and there was Danny, a glowing green twisted mass of bones in a black-and-white jumpsuit.

"Do you like us, Turner?" grinned Remy, "We're the ones you failed to save, out from the back of your mind to see if you are worthy to do what must be done. Simply put…"

He let out a hoarse laugh.

"We're your inner demons."


	10. Chapter 9: Inner Demons

OK, I've got two things to say before we start this chapter.

One; I'm a total idiot. Having spent the whole story refering to the partner item for the Balance as being a diadem, I realised that I had the wrong thing - I meant to say amulet. It is hard to put a diadem around ones neck, after all.

The second thing is that I would like to shamelessly plug my new story in the Cartoon X-Overs section, E350's Happy Fluffy Reviews of Really Bad Fanfics. Also, if anyone's reading Revolution, I apologise greatly for the long hiatus and will get back to that once the Beginning is finished.

Now, review replies;

**OddAuthor: **I'm glad you liked my portrayal of Timmy, but if you ask me, you do a better job at him. Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper:** Well, I couldn't finish this story without Crocker turning up again, could I? Thanks for the review!

**Tweenisode Orange:** He should call all three! XD Thanks!  
**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Inner Demons**

Timmy backed against the wall, horrified, as his dead allies shuffled towards him. Remy was still grinning, his arms crossed as he observed the scene.

"So this is Timmy Turner," he observed, "The boy who struck fear into the hearts of a government – backed against the wall and cowering in fear."

He shook his head.

"You really are pathetic, aren't you Turner?" he sneered.

"No…you can't be here, you can't be," wheezed Timmy.

"We are," replied Remy, "No thanks to you, incidentally. I mean look at this – all of us your friends and allies – just how much is your protection worth?"

"Go away," whimpered Timmy, squeezing his eyes shut.

"No," snorted Remy, simply.

He grabbed a sharp piece of rubble and pressed it against Timmy's arm.

* * *

"He's got two minutes," scowled Jimmy, looking down the hole, "I told him, I _told_ him not to go down there…"

"I'm going in after him," declared Dani.

"Are you _mad_, woman?" demanded Sheen, "That's the tunnel of painful _death…_"

"You really know how to reassure someone, don't you Sheen," shot Dani, "See you when I get back."

"Dani, don't go in there!" ordered Jimmy, "I'm warning…"

Dani was already crawling down the hole.

Jimmy grimaced.

"Do I just have a face nobody listens to?" he lamented.

* * *

Crocker ducked a beam of dark magic sent at him by Freakshow and dived behind a table for cover. He fired his bazooka over the table, but missed. Grinning, Freakshow turned his attention to Mr. Krabs, who was now using a chair leg as a weapon.

"Why do you persist, Krabs?" he demanded.

"You stay away from me daughter!" snapped Mr. Krabs.

Freakshow gave it false consideration.

"No, I think I'll ignore you on that one," he decided.

He lunged at Mr. Krabs and decked him over the cheek with his fist. This winded Mr. Krabs, allowing Freakshow to force him to the ground and start choking him.

Then Jazz hit him in the back with a spanner.

Glaring, Freakshow turned to face his new opponent.

"Where did you get _that?_" he demanded.

Norm grinned as he floated up to Jazz.

"Hey, all-powerful genie here," replied Norm, "I've always wanted to watch someone beat up a guy with a spanner – looks like I'm getting my wish. That's a change."

Freakshow glowered, and performed a jump kick against Jazz's chest, before slamming a right uppercut into Norm's jaw. He was about to send another blow in Norm's direction, when he was grabbed by the neck from behind.

"Did you forget me?" grinned Crocker.

"Of, for goodness sakes!" cursed Freakshow, and he launched a left hook at the teacher.

* * *

Dani crawled out of the hole, to find Timmy curled up in a ball on the ground, whimpering. His environment protector was running dangerously low, with about twenty seconds left.

Dani jumped down into the room, and called out to the boy.

"Timmy…what's wrong?" she asked.

Timmy opened his eyes. His face was pale as a ghost.

"They won't go away," he shuddered.

"What won't go away?" enquired Dani, sitting on the ground next to him. She placed her environment protector in her hand and put in on her shoulder, protecting them both from the deadly radiation.

"Can't you see them?" whimpered Timmy, "Remy…everyone who's dead…because of me…"

Suddenly, Timmy scrunched up his eyes and screamed in pain.

"Timmy, what-"

"They're hurting me," groaned Timmy, snivelling a little and clutching his right arm, "They _won't stop…_"

Dani glanced at Timmy's arm. Not a single mark was on him.

"Timmy," said Dani, firmly, "It's not real. It's all in your head."

She glanced at the environment protector – one minute.

"B-but I can see them," stammered Timmy, "I can _feel _them, I…"

"Timmy, look at me," demanded Dani.

Timmy's head did not move.

"Look at me!" snapped Dani, grabbing his head and forcing him to look her in the eyes, "It's not real. It's just in your mind; you need to snap out of it!"

Timmy shook his head.

"They're all d-dead…b-b-because…because of me," he stuttered.

Dani gave a sad smile.

"That's not true," she replied, "Nobody has ever died because of you. Everybody you can see helped you by their own choice…they'd never want you to think anything different."

Timmy's lip shuddered.

"Let it out, Timmy," whispered Dani.

Timmy let out a sob, and buried his head on Dani's shoulder. Dani drew the boy into a hug, and rubbed his back sympathetically.

All the while, the environment protector ticked down…

* * *

In London, Great Britain, Colonel R. Atkinson sat in a small office at Thames House and waited. They had already hacked the computers of Cyclops – now all he needed was the go ahead.

In an airfield near London, Lieutenant Bishop paced up and down the tarmac impatiently, waiting for the green light to board the choppers.

In Retroville, Texas, an air of impatience had fallen over the lab. Molly, Valerie, Ember and Tootie were watching the main screen, waiting for the signal to go.

It had been an hour. They were now running behind schedule…

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, Timmy came up from Dani's embrace and looked around, sniffling. The skeletal group were now gone, replaced by the form of Danny Fenton – slightly transparent, but at the very least not dead-looking.

"D-Danny?" gasped Dani – obviously she could see him too.

"You've finally unlocked yourself, Timmy," grinned Danny.

"What? I thought I did that three years ago!" mused Timmy.

"You unlocked the first part of yourself then, yeah," nodded Danny, "The rest of it was let out when you fought off your inner demons."

"So…that means I'm ready to face Freakshow, right?" realized Timmy.

"Hey, you were _always_ ready," replied Danny, "It doesn't matter if you have powers or intelligence or strength or anything – you put your mind to it, and that's what'll let you win."

Timmy nodded.

"Do you have to go after this?" asked Dani.

"I'm afraid so, Dani," confirmed Danny.

"Oh," sighed Dani, miserably.

"Hey – I'll see you again, cuz," grinned Danny, "Sure, it'll probably be a pretty long time – well, at least I _hope_ it would be a pretty long time – but we'll meet again. But until that happens, I don't want anyone crying over me – just promise me you'll have a good life, both of you."

There was a short pause.

"We will," nodded Dani, at last.

Danny grinned.

"Good luck, then," he farewelled, "I'll see you on the far side."

There was a flash of green light, and then he was gone.

Dani looked down at the environment protector and did a double-take.

"Holy – it's on zero!" she gasped, "We should be dead!"

Timmy looked at his own protector.

"That's odd," he said, confused, "According to this, there's no radiation in here."

Dani gave a small smile.

"Danny," she realized, "He saved our lives…why aren't we drowning?"

"Maybe these things protect against water more easily then radiation," shrugged Timmy, "Makes sense."

He climbed back into the hole and began to crawl back to Jimmy.

"Hey, Dani, where'd you get the hair band?" he asked as they made their way back down.

"What…"

Dani felt her hair, feeling the white hair band that had appeared in her hair.

"I don't know," she replied, "Maybe…"

"It's the Hairband for the Light," realised Timmy, "We don't find it, it finds us, remember?"

"Oh yeah," nodded Dani, "I guess this makes me your partner, right?"

"Guess so," grinned Timmy, "That's lucky – I was going to pick you anyway."

* * *

Jimmy, Sheen, Spongebob and Sandy stood, waiting, in the kitchen, Jimmy looking increasingly forlorn.

"They're dead," he blurted at last, "It's got to have been at least ten minutes since Dani went in."

"Dead, are we?"

"Yeah, dead as a – Timmy?" gasped Jimmy, as Timmy's head poked through the hole.

"Yep," grinned Timmy, as he and Dani climbed out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we got it."

He held out the amulet.

"I knew you could do it!" beamed Spongebob.

Jimmy glared at Timmy.

"Never do that again," he snapped.

"Gotcha," nodded Timmy, grinning, "Anyway, let's go give a certain Freakshow the good news."

He led the group back to the main room.

Then he froze.

Jazz and Mr. Krabs were knelt over Crocker, slumped over a wall, whilst Freakshow was nowhere in sight.

"Mr. Crocker?" gasped Timmy, "What happened?"

"He got a Dark Magic burst to the chest," replied Norm.

Timmy nodded grimly, and walked up to his teacher.

"Turner," wheezed Crocker, "I…I'm sorry for the…the things that I did…"

"I got it," said Timmy, softly, "I forgive you."

Crocker gave Timmy a pleading look.

"May…may I see them, Timmy?"

Timmy was taken aback by the use of his first name.

Then he gave a small smile, and nodded.

"Cosmo, Wanda, can you come over here?" he asked.

Nervously, Cosmo and Wanda floated to Timmy's former enemy.

"Mr. Crocker, these are Cosmo and Wanda," he introduced, "My fairy god parents."

Crocker stared for a bit, before letting out a small chuckle.

"I was right," he said, weakly, "I was right all along."

He gave a cough.

"F…Fairy…God…Parents…" he gasped, his body shuddering feebly.

Then his eyes shut, and he was still.

Timmy stood still for a few seconds.

Then he pulled a radio from his pocket.

"It's time," he said simply.

* * *

"_It's time._

"

"You heard the man," ordered Colonel Atkinson, glancing at Harker, "Get to the computer terminals and start shutting down Cyclops."

"Of course," nodded Harker.

"All units, relay orders for immediate take off," demanded Atkinson, speaking into his own radio, "Operation End Game is go, I repeat, Operation End Game is go."

* * *

"_It's time."_

Bishop gave a serious look, and hung up his radio.

"Alright, everyone to the choppers, we are go," he ordered, as the tarmac began to echo with activity, "ETA for take-off, five minutes."

He ran to the nearest chopper, where Sabre Team was assembling.

"Lock and load, people," he ordered.

* * *

"_It's time."_

Valerie glanced at her radio, and nodded. She reached forward, and pushed a button on Jimmy's computer terminal.

Loud klaxons immediately sounded throughout the lab.

"Everybody, get to Jimmy's…plane…things," ordered Chester, "We're going to Cyclops!"

The members of the Cave cheered.

* * *

Prime Minister Percy James had had a decidedly good afternoon, compared to his morning. He'd passed a bill he'd been interested in for a while, and had thoroughly slandered an MP he didn't like. He hadn't even needed to bother with 'that damn fool Atkinson'. All in all, a good day in the House.

He whistled as he walked back to 10 Downing Street, without a care in the world.

Then he was deafened by the sound of turbo jets as a flight of Harrier jets thundered above him.

Regaining his bearings, James looked to the sky. A grand armada of RAF and USAF fighters were zooming skywards, aided by some of the gravity bubbles used to access the Cyclops space station.

He stared for a moment.

Then he broke in to a colourful variety of swear words as he realised he'd been hung out to dry.

* * *

**AN: **If you ask me, the Jesus!Danny bit was a little bit too cheesy...


	11. Chapter 10: The Finest Hour

Here we go, it's the beginning of the final battle! Oh, and there are several media shoutouts here - can you spot them? :D

Review Replies;

**OddAuthor:** Phew, glad you liked it. Thanks for reading!

**BANZAC:** Well, if you thought that chapter was exciting...[/inflated ego] Thanks for reviewing!

**unknown20troper:** Thanks! I got a little bit sad writing that scene, I must say.  
**

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten: The Finest Hour**

It was a bizarre formation, General Stone noted. Planes carrying the roundels of the RAF, the USAF, the Luftwaffe, the PLAAF, the French and Russian Air Forces, the RAAF and RCAF – that was just to name a few – all soared together in a single, steel-metal cloud.

All sorts of planes were flown, from antiques like Egypt's F-4 Phantom II's to cutting edge masterpieces like the USAF F-22 Raptor, to oddities like the British GR.9 Harrier.

This, of course, was a mere technicality.

The simple, fundamental point was that a mass of airplanes like never before seen in history were hurtling, pell-mell, towards Cyclops.

It was at this point that he began to deeply regret installing that gravity bubble.

"All units, be advised," he ordered, calling down the radio, "We have a mass of bogies heading down the pipeline, prepare for stage one defensive measures."

Along the surface of the space station, several secret compartments were opened, revealing large, automated batteries of Surface to Air Missiles. With a thunderous roar (made possible by the artificial gravity), a salvo fired off, hitting the lead elements of the fighter screen and knocking them out of the sky.

* * *

The Hovercraft rematerialised in Universe A just above orbit in formation with the transport helicopters, as well as Jimmy's startling variety of spacecraft. Sandy whistled.

"Gravity bubble," she acknowledged, "Interestin'."

"Meh, it's rudimentary," shrugged Jimmy, "I can fly this thing to the moon and back in a day without _any_ protection, mind you."

"How do you do that?" asked Jazz, "Wouldn't you suffocate?"

"Yeah, there's a logical explanation," nodded Jimmy, "I just…"

A jet overtook them, drowning Jimmy's words out in the thunder of turbojets.

"…and that's how it's done," finished Jimmy, "Anyway, no time for this…"

He pressed a button on the dashboard. A 3-D holographic model of Cyclops appeared over the middle of the Hovercraft.

"We're going up the garbage disposal chute," he explained, "They're under attack, so there no danger of them emptying it. Once there, we head down the maintenance shafts, that's the quickest route to the bridge."

"So we're all going that way," nodded Timmy.

"No," continued Jimmy, "We'll attract too much attention if we all go down there. At least three of us need to join the main assault."

Another SAM round fired, and several planes exploded.

"Timmy, I'll take Sheen and Mr. Krabs through the front way with the others," finished Jimmy, "That'll take out some off the baggage."

"What?" demanded Timmy, "But you're the genius! You…"

"I've done my bit, Timmy," replied Jimmy, "It's up to you from here on in – you're going to have to trust me."

Timmy thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Good," grinned Jimmy, "Now hang on – the disposal chute is right on top of that thing, it's gonna be a pretty bumpy ride."

He increased the speed, and the Hovercraft zoomed towards Cyclops.

* * *

The Pave Low weaved its way through the rockets, the pilot muttering angrily as he manoeuvred.

"Why did I come back to this?" he lamented, "I should have sticked with the tanks!"

"Wait a minute," realized Gavin, "You're the guy in the tank from Washington!"

"Don't remind me!" shouted the pilot.

He groaned as he narrowly avoided another missile.

"When this is over, I'm quitting the military for good," he snapped.

Bishop stood up in the back of the helicopter, his weapon ready.

"OK, once we hit the ground, I want close quarters discipline in place – check your fire, watch each others backs, and be careful with grenades. Good luck, all of you…"

There was a flash in the corner of his eye as another helicopter in the formation exploded on contact with a SAM.

As the formation drew closer, tracer rounds began to fired, producing even more danger then before.

There was a gurgle, and the co-pilot of the helicopter slumped in his chair. The pilot leant over him, feeling for a pulse.

"He's dead!" he called back, "I need someone up here to spot the navigation gear!"

He looked back at the windscreen.

A Blackhawk helicopter was spinning out of control in his direction.

"Oh, fu-"

The Blackhawk slammed into the larger helicopter's cockpit. With a tremendous fireball, the smaller chopper exploded, demolishing the front end of the Pave Low. The remains of the helicopter began to spin out of control, and Bishop grabbed onto a handrail.

"Hang on!" he ordered.

The remaining soldiers in the chopper (most in the front end having been killed) grabbed onto the nearest bolted item.

"This is gonna suck!" screamed Rourke.

The Pave Low span towards Cyclops and, with a sickening crunch, crashed in the Docking Bay.

For a few seconds, the wreck was still.

Then Bishop picked his way out the door, coughing.

"Who's alive?" he asked.

Gavin and Rourke stumbled out of the chopper after him, followed by eight very dizzy British and German soldiers.

"Where's the pilot?" asked Bishop.

"He didn't make it, sir," replied a British soldier, quietly, "He took the full force of impact."

"Alright, what's your name?" enquired Bishop.

"Corporal Milligan, sir," replied the soldier, "Grenadier Guards."

"Right, Corporal Milligan, I'm gonna get you – and everyone else here – home, you understand me?"

"I hope so, sir," nodded the soldier, "It looks like no one else is coming."

He pointed outside. Jimmy's odd armada of transports was now landing.

But there was nary a helicopter in sight.

* * *

Timmy tried to hang on – no mean feat, as the Hovercraft was practically vertical.

Jimmy was manoeuvring the Hovercraft, an almost crazy grin on his face as he hugged the surface of Cyclops, thundering upwards towards the chute without any care of the risk involved.

"I feel so alive!" laughed Jimmy, as a SAM missed them, just brushing the genius' hair.

"I feel so…sick," gurgled Mr. Krabs.

There was a fiery explosion, and the remains of a fighter slammed into Cyclops next to them, nearly taking the Hovercraft with it.

Jimmy suddenly pulled the break on the Hovercraft, coming to a halt at the very top of the surface.

"This is your stop," he grinned.

"Uh…thanks," nodded Timmy, somewhat winded, "Look, if we don't survive this, Jim – thanks for everything."

Jimmy's grin turned to a small, sincere smile.

"Same here buddy," he replied, "But we _are_ going to see this through."

Timmy grinned as he stepped out of the Hovercraft and onto the cold surface of the space station.

"I'm looking forward to it," he smiled.

Jimmy winked, and flew the Hovercraft down towards the Docking Bay.

Timmy looked down the shaft, then at his allies – his friends.

"We've got the hair band, we've got the amulet," observed Timmy, "Now it's time to put them to use."

Dani, Spongebob and Sandy nodded.

"Let's see how this works," nodded Timmy, "I, Timothy Tiberius Turner, Bringer of the Light, officially appoint Danielle Fenton as my Partner."

The hair band gave a short glow, but nothing else happened. Instinctively, Dani tried to take it off – to find that it was stuck.

"It won't come off!" she exclaimed.

"I think it's supposed to do that," replied Timmy, "You've got part of the Light in you now – you're my Partner."

Dani nodded, slightly apprehensively.

Nervously, Sandy put on the amulet, and all eyes turned to Spongebob.

"Uh…" murmured Spongebob, scratching his head nervously, "I, Spongebob S. Squarepants, Holder of the Balance, officially appoint Sandy Cheeks as my…"

Then he shook his head, grabbed Sandy's hands, and said it again, in a far clearer tone.

"I, Spongebob S. Squarepants, Holder of the Balance, officially accept Sandra Cheeks as my Partner."

The amulet glowed an emerald shade. Sandy tried to tug at it, to find it would not move.

"Alright guys," nodded Timmy, determinedly, "Let's move."

* * *

"You gormless idiot!" snapped Atkinson, glaring daggers at Harker, "You were supposed to be handling the AA batteries, you stupid oaf!"

"I missed a few firewalls," muttered Harker, meekly.

"Damn it, get me a back up," scowled Atkinson, "An intelligent one, I don't care who. Harker, don't let it happen again."

"Yes, Colonel," nodded Harker, turning glumly back to his work.

Atkinson gritted his teeth, and got back to his.

Things were getting off to a bad start…


	12. Chapter 11: Boarding

Hey gang! The fighting has begun! Yeah, that's all I could think of.

Review replies;

**OddAuthor:** They did. That was my inspiration. :D. Thanks for reviewing!

**unknown20troper:** Thank you, and thanks for reading!

**BANZAC:** Well...there's a battle. XD. Thanks!  
**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Boarding**

Jimmy stood at the head of what could best be described as an angry mob out to get Freakshow. Eleven quite peeved soldiers and seventeen even angrier civilians were ready to blast open the door into the loading bay and the nucleus of the space station.

"You ready?" asked Jimmy.

A large man who had just wired a large amount of C4 to the door gave the thumbs up.

"Let's do this."

"_Fire in the hole!"_

The door exploded.

A company sized unit of F.I.N.A.L. troops raised their weapons.

"Aw…crap," cursed Gavin.

The echo of gunshots bellowed deafeningly as the F.I.N.A.L. troops fired their weapons, with most of the Cave managing to duck just in time. One soldier – a British foot soldier named Private Alfred Gurnes – was hit several times across the abdomen and fell.

"Step aside!" a voice with a very distinctive Russian accent shouted, "Lieutenant Bishop is mine!"

"Made an enemy?" quizzed Valerie, slightly amused.

"Looks like it," shrugged Bishop, as Kalashnikov barged towards him.

"Max Bishop," he snarled, "Sabre Team."

"Avtomat Kalashnikov," nodded Bishop, "Group 47."

"AK-47?" chuckled Valerie, "Are you kidding?"

"That is not funny," criticized Kalashnikov.

He loaded the grenade launcher on his assault rife.

"_This_ is funny," he grinned.

He fired the grenade, forcing Bishop and Valerie to jump in opposite directions as it exploded. Moving quickly before Valerie could respond, the Russian had closed to range, firing bursts deliberately aimed to miss Bishop.

"Why're you doing that?" demanded Bishop.

"We are masters of combat, Bishop," chuckled Kalashnikov, "Let us dance."

Not far away, Molly and Chester had run into the F.I.N.A.L. line. Chester decked a soldier with a right hook, grabbed his rifle and fired it into another soldier who attempted to resist. Molly picked up the man's weapon and fired indiscriminately into the enemy troops.

Tootie glanced over, horrified.

"You're _killing_ them?" she gasped.

"You mean like they killed you?" deadpanned Molly, rolling her eyes.

Tootie glared.

"Besides," added Chester, "It's not like we're kids anymore."

"You're _thirteen!_" snapped Tootie.

"So?" shrugged Molly, "They made us grow up early. This is payback."

A F.I.N.A.L. soldier hit her with the butt of his firearm, knocking her back a bit. Gritting her teeth, she fired a shot at his leg. Crying out, the enemy soldier fell to the ground, and placed his hands in the air.

"You see," nodded Tootie, "You didn't need to…"

Rat-a-tat-a-tat.

Molly gave a small grin as the man expired, while Tootie gave a horror-struck look.

"Like I said," finished Molly, "Payback."

Gavin, Ember and another soldier, one Gefreiter Heinz Zimmermann, were firing from a distance with their rifles (or in Ember's case, guitar), when a loud gunshot rang out. Zimmermann was blown backwards by the force of the shot, which penetrated his chest.

Gavin glanced at the location of the shot.

"Sniper," he noted, "Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle Mk. III, twenty five degrees, two hundred feet."

"In English?" demanded Ember.

"Guy with gun – that way," simplified Gavin, pointing to the man, "His bullets won't work on a ghost, I need you to act as a target while I get him in my sights."

"Whatever," sighed Ember, getting up.

Apathetically, she walked into the crowd, firing her guitar lazily at the enemy. The sniper immediately turned his attention to her, and he moved his rifle.

This was a big mistake, as the scope glimmered as it moved.

"Got ya," nodded Gavin.

He held his breath and pulled the trigger.

Henry Lee Enfield slumped at his position, a bullet having penetrating his skull.

Rourke had gathered up the remaining soldiers, with the exception of Milligan, and was leading them through the chaos as a coherent unit.

Suddenly, two shots went off, and two men fell. The other three spun around, just as a third shot gunned down a third soldier.

"Who's that?" demanded the last soldier, Feldwebel Klara Mueller of GSG 9, clutching her rifle close.

"Don't do that," warned Rourke, "They never tell you who they are until they have you at their mercy. Apparently, that's the rule."

"I see you're the apathetic one," a voice with a heavy Southern accent enquired.

A soldier wielding a Smith & Wesson revolver and a large fedora stepped in front of them, arms crossed.

"I take it your Smith Wesson," sighed Rourke, "Am I supposed to take you seriously?"

"Depends," mused Wesson, "D'you wanna live long?"

He whipped a sub-machine gun from his back with surprising speed and fired a short burst at Mueller, bringing her down with head and stomach wounds.

"Surrender," demanded Wesson, "You might be spared."

"When you just gunned down four people I was hoping to get to know?" growled Rourke, "Well, here's my reply."

He booted Wesson in the crotch, before bringing out his own sidearm.

"EFF!" BANG. "UWE!" BANG. "SEE!" BANG. "KAY!" BANG. "YOU!" BANG.

Kalashnikov got a glance of this out of the corner of his eye, before being booted in the face by Bishop. Quickly recovering, he returned a right uppercut to the Lieutenant's face, before grabbing his pistol and slamming it over his enemy's temple.

Bishop fell backwards, landing on the floor. Chuckling, Kalashnikov aimed his rifle at him.

"This is how it ends, is it?" mused Kalashnikov, "Me, you, and an AK. It was always going to finish like this. But you, tovarish, you are different – I actually didn't know who would come out on top. You are an excellent soldier, and you have lived up to your honour."

He lowered his rifle.

"That is why I will allow you to li-"

SMACK.

Carl Wheezer stood over the large, unconscious Russian, having just hit him over the head with a well-loaded pencil case, and was now looking rather proud at his achievement.

"You know, he was gonna let me live, Carl," mused Bishop, dryly.

"Uh…yeah, I knew that," nodded Carl, meekly.

Suddenly, the gunshots died down. The two looked over to where the battle had been, to find that the F.I.N.A.L. troops, their numbers more then halved, had given up and surrendered.

"Yeah, we did it! I can't believe it, we did it!" cheered Tucker.

"Boy, we cleared out a room," reminded Mr. Krabs, "We'll celebrate when we're done here."

Tucker nodded, meekly.

* * *

Timmy felt his fall broken by an influx of hot air, rising lazily from the bottom of the shaft. To the side of the chute was a door – presumably leading to the air vents.

"Alright, we're gonna need to get that thing open," he mused, "We could probably…"

Cosmo pulled it open, revealing that it was not actually locked.

"Or we could do that," nodded Timmy, sheepishly.

The vent was not very long, and they soon dropped down into a rather hazy corridor.

"OK, this corridor should lead to the bridge," said Timmy, "It goes past the maintenance shafts and…"

"Wait a minute," cut Norm, "Why is there an air vent on a space station?"

"I dunno," shrugged Dani, "I guess it's just there."

"We're wasting time," warned Jazz, "We should keep moving before…"

There was a burst of gunfire, and the group instinctively ducked out of the way. Glancing down the corridor, a small unit of soldiers were walking towards them, their eyes unfocused.

"_Ah, Turner, I know you're down there,"_ Freakshow called over the PA system, "_You're about to meet the Conscript Program – lobotomised soldiers with artificial aiming systems, brilliant and cost-effective replacement for normal troops._"

Norm, Cosmo and Wanda fired bursts of magic, knocking three of them down. The remaining two, led by a Private Carter, aimed their weapons again and fired. Jazz let out a cry as a round entered her hand.

"_Ooh, down for the count!"_ sneered Freakshow, "_She'll only slow you down, Turner. Why don't you leave her, hmm? I'll be sure to send someone to…clean up the mess."_

Norm gave a dirty look at the roof, before firing two more bursts of magic from both hands, flooring the remaining conscripts.

"You keep going," he snapped, "I'll stay here and look after Jazz."

"Norm…look after someone?" mused Timmy, confused.

"Yeah, Overbite Extremis, turns out I have a conscience," shot Norm, "Now get moving!"

Timmy nodded, and ran up the hallway.

Norm gave a small grin.

"Turns out I have a conscience," he chuckled to himself, "Who've thought?"

"Yeah," nodded Jazz, somewhat giddily. She was slumped against the wall, her hand bleeding onto the cold, metal surface.

She was bleeding out.

Norm shook his head.

"Smoof," he cursed, "Nothing's ever simple, is it?"

"Welcome to my life," beamed Jazz.

Norm gave a small snort.

* * *

"Alright, Harker, we're coming up to the Gun Room, prepare to lift it up," ordered Atkinson.

"_Err…Gun Room, sir?"_ asked Bishop, apprehensively.

"It's a lift to the upper floors," replied Atkinson, absently, "It's lined with weapons along the walls, designed to eradicate intruders. We turned that bit off ages ago."

"_I hope you're right,_" replied Bishop.

"Am I ever not?" grinned Atkinson.

"_There was that time in Singapore…_"

"That one was poor intelligence, Bishop," snapped Atkinson.

* * *

Bishop gave a wry grin as the group arrived at the Gun Room. It was pretty mundane, really – it looked like an enclosed truck lift.

"Alright," he ordered, "Sheen, Libby, the Turners and Rourke, you're staying back here to tend to F.I.N.A.L. wounded – no arguments."

Chester and Molly shot Bishop a dark glare.

"Chester and Molly, I want you to stand guard here – I don't wanna be flanked," continued Bishop,

He gained an even darker glare.

"The ghosts can phase through the roof, so you make sure our exit is clear. The rest of you, be ready for when the lift stops," finished Bishop, "Got anything to say, Jimmy?"

"Nah, I'm good," replied Jimmy, shrugging, "We've done most of our job now; Timmy should be in. We just need to keep absorbing the pressure."

"Good," nodded Bishop, "Everyone, into the lift."

Ember, Technus, Skulker and Tootie phased up through the roof, while Chester and Molly watched the remainder of the group step into the Gun Room.

There was a sudden groan, and a great metal blast door dropped over the Gun Room's entrance.

Bishop whipped out his radio.

"Sir, what's happening?" asked Milligan, nervously.

"Is it supposed to do that?" he asked.

"_Do what?"_

"The blast door just shut," replied Bishop, as an ominous humming began.

"…_no, it isn't," _warned Atkinson, "_Um…it seems you're not going up, either. We're getting an energy spike on your position."_

Atkinson glanced over to Harker's terminal.

"Harker, I'm getting interference in the Gun Room, is anything wrong over there?" he asked.

Harker did not respond, his back turned.

"Harker, can you shut down the Gun Room?" demanded Atkinson.

Harker turned around, a smirk crossing his face as he held his finger over the 'enter' button.

"Oh, I'm sorry Atkinson," he chuckled, "I couldn't here you over the sound of my orders."

Atkinson's eyes widened in horror as he pressed 'enter'.

The humming was now extremely loud, and Milligan backed against the wall, shuddering.

"I know what's happening," gasped Jimmy, his face pale, "It's active – the Gun Room's active."

"It's can't be," snapped Bishop, "Atkinson and Harker shut it off!"

"What do we do now?" demanded Tucker, as shouting and screaming broke out in the room.

Vlad simply leaned against the wall, and shut his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"OK, everybody calm, there's gotta be cover somewhere!" exclaimed Valerie.

"The walls are lined with weapons!" snapped Cindy, "Unless somebody opens the door, we haven't got…"

Cindy's voice was drowned out as the humming became near deafening.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" yelled Gavin.

Bishop began to scream into his radio.

"_THIS IS SABRE TO ATKINSON, FOR F*CK'S SAKE, TURN THIS THING OFF!"_

In the chaos of the room, Gavin's eye turned suddenly to a panel next to the blast door. A thought struck him.

Darting over to the panel, he smashed at it with his rifle, causing the cover to slide off. Grabbing the wires behind, he slammed them together.

The door slid open.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" bellowed Gavin.

Milligan was the first out, followed quickly by Jimmy and the rest of the Cave. Bishop and Vlad hesitated.

"GET THE HELL OUT," snapped Gavin, "OR I'LL FREAKIN' SHOOT YOU!"

"Gavin…"

"GO!"

Bishop nodded, and ran out the door. Vlad crossed his arms.

"I suppose you think blind heroics will mean anything in the long term?" he mused.

Gavin scowled as Vlad walked out of the room.

Then he let go of the wires.

* * *

Atkinson heard the sound of gunfire over his radio, still shaking.

"Long live the Dark," sneered Harker, crossing his arms.

Atkinson brought out his sidearm and fired three times. Harker fell back, still grinning as his life flowed away.

"_Colonel…come in."_

Atkinson grabbed his radio, about to scream gleefully into it, before catching himself. He cleared his throat, and spoke sedately.

"You're alive, I see," he noted.

"_Not all of us, Colonel. Not all of us. Sabre Two is down._"

* * *

The Gun Room reopened, and the Cave walked back in, Bishop fighting back tears. With a shudder and a groan, it began to lift.

"_Everything is as it should be…_"


	13. Chapter 12: The Fools Game

There is an important messege in this chapter about something bad in real life. I hope you find it!

Review replies;

**unknown20troper: **I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading!

**OddAuthor:** I'm glad you liked the battle scenes, I personally think I suck at writing action. Thanks for reviewing!

**TweenisodeOrange:** You'll see in this chapter. Thanks for the review!

**BANZAC: **How did you get a hold of the original cut to the story? XP Thanks!  
**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: The Fools Game**

Freakshow rolled his eyes as he watched the Vice-President rant through the video conference.

"…you've been ignoring the economy, you've been ignoring government departments, you've been ignoring the situation in the Middle East – heck, you've been ignoring the entire country…"

"None of which explains why airplanes clearly marked as United States Air Force are joining this attack on a UN construct," replied Freakshow, dryly.

"Germany declared you an international criminal at the UN," snapped the Vice-President, "They drew over the French, Russians and Chinese, and the Queen was pressuring Britain. It was either this or the mother of all international incidents."

"So, you wage war on your own President," nodded Freakshow, "Have you actually thought this through, Mr. Vice-President? One shot from Cyclops can destroy a whole city block…like now, for instance."

"What the hell are you…"

The feed cut out abruptly.

General Stone walked onto the bridge and saluted.

"Protocol Seventeen was activated, we blasted the Capitol to rubble," he informed.

"Excellent, that'll shut them up," grinned Freakshow, "Now, what's the status on the AA batteries?"

"Out of ammunition, sir," replied Stone, "The fighters can strike with impunity."

The station rocked heavily to the sound of explosions.

"In laymen's terms, it means we'll need to move," finished Stone, "I estimate we have twenty minutes until Cyclops breaks up."

Freakshow nodded, absently.

"Take Lydia to the Ospreys," he ordered, "I need my partner alive."

"Sir, the Ospreys are through the second deck," warned Stone, "Last estimate shows that contact was made with boarders outside the Gun Room."

"Fat lot of good that was, then," snapped Freakshow, "Gather the Elite and push through them."

"Yes sir!"

Stone saluted and left the room.

* * *

F.I.N.A.L. had not taken long to throw it's crème at the hapless boarders. Bishop decided that if this was their crème, then F.I.N.A.L. must have low recruitment standards.

"Hey, where'd you assholes train?" he demanded, firing a burst at a guard, "The Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy?"

He and Valerie had positioned themselves just up the hallway on the right flank of the Gun Room entrance. They had held pretty well so far.

Then Bishop swore.

Five beefy, grey-suited men were walking towards them, guarding Lydia and a man in a general's uniform.

"Elites!" cursed Valerie.

"Sir, madam," snapped the general, "I am General Zachariah Stone of the Fairy Immunization Network, Allied League. You will stand down."

"Forget it!" shouted Bishop.

"Very well," nodded Stone, "Elites, get them."

The Elites barrelled down the hallway towards the defenders. Both aimed their weapons and pulled the triggers.

Click. Click.

"Aw, for craps sake!" cried Bishop.

The Elites tackled into them, their enhanced strength crashing them against the wall with immense force.

Struggling against the suffocating stranglehold he was in, and wincing in pain as he was punched in the stomach, Bishop managed to grab his pistol and aim it at the first Elite. To his dismay, it took the whole clip for just the one to go down.

"I-I've got an idea," he groaned to Valerie, pinned on the other side.

"Yeah? What's that?" asked Valerie.

"Elites can be killed by…large explosions," grinned Bishop, pulling a grenade from his belt.

Valerie stared for a minute, before allowing herself her own grin.

"I got ya," she nodded, bringing out another explosive.

Bishop glared at the nearest Elite.

"All right," he snarled, "This one's for Baker, for Morrissey…and for Gavin."

He pulled the pin on his grenade as Valerie activated hers. Bishop scowled.

"_Semper Fi._"

Stone flinched as the corridor ahead exploded.

When the smoke cleared, the Elites were all dead. Valerie was among them, but Bishop was leaning against the wall, most likely mortally injured, but laughing despite himself.

"You've cracked, Lieutenant," snarled Stone, walking up to him.

"You're an ass, General," shot Bishop, grinning lightly.

Stone pulled his sidearm out and aimed it at his forehead.

"Any last words?" he asked.

"Yep," nodded Bishop, "I'll be seeing you before the sun comes up tomorrow. Goodnight, ya bastard."

Stone pulled the trigger.

* * *

Stone and Lydia made their way through the battlefield that was now the second deck.

Stone pulled a special pistol from his holster.

"The Ecto-Annihilator," he grinned, showing it to Lydia, "The only hand-held weapon on Earth that can kill a ghost."

Lydia looked at it apprehensively.

Stone glanced at Tootie and Carl, who were beating down a soldier.

"Allow me to demonstrate."

He aimed the weapon at Tootie and fired.

Tootie had about a second to glance before she was hit. Carl watched in horror as she was hit, and fell to the ground. Her body began to liquefy into ectoplasma.

"NO!" he gasped.

"…and this is an M9 Berretta Pistol," added Stone, pulling out his normal pistol as Carl ran at him.

He shot three times – twice in the chest, once in the head.

Tootie watched as Carl fell backwards, his body bleeding in multiple areas.

She heard a cry of anguish, before Jimmy Neutron threw himself at Stone, his Tornado Blaster swung at his head.

She watched as a wolf jumped from the tattoos on Lydia's skin, tackling down Jimmy and biting at his flesh.

She watched as Jimmy managed to beat the wolf off of him and, bleeding profusely, throw himself at Stone again.

She watched him pick up a gun from the ground and fire at the general. She watched him miss.

And she watched him being grabbed from behind by a F.I.N.A.L. soldier and cut down.

She looked around at the chaos, and realised that their childhood was long over – that war had transformed people who should still be carefree children into soldiers, caught between fairies and humans over just one person.

She let out a small curse at the bottom of her breath.

"_I hate you, Timmy_."

And then she died.

* * *

The gunfire and sounds of fighting died down, allowing Tucker a few moments to collect himself.

He looked over the floor outside the Gun Room, to find several bodies lying over the floor. It was a sobering sight.

He stepped past the still form of Cindy Vortex, slumped against the wall. She had been carrying inventions of Jimmy's – Tucker could not identify which – but that had not saved her from being shot down by the F.I.N.A.L. onslaught.

He passed Corporal Milligan, the man Bishop had promised would survive. He lay on the ground, writhing in pain with a wound to the chest. Nothing could be done for him without unavailable medical attention. Milligan let out a squirm, a choked call to his mother, and then lay still.

"He shouldn't have been here."

Tucker glanced over to Vlad Plasmius, looking solemnly at the carnage.

"None of us should've been here," snapped Tucker.

Vlad nodded, sadly.

Tucker walked up to Technus, who was muttering to himself and holding his head. He seemed to have banged it very hard – could ghosts get brain damage? – and a little bit of green liquid was trickling to the floor from the back of his head.

"I'll see to him," said Vlad, quietly.

Tucker nodded, and walked away.

He saw Ember standing over a twisted, sparking hunk of metal in the corner. He realised on closer inspection that it was Skulker's armoured suit. He reached down to move a piece, to find it was white hot. He moved his hand quickly away.

"You okay?" he asked Ember.

Ember glared at him, her eyes teary.

"Do I look OK?" she demanded, "I've been dating this dupe for I-don't-know how long, and then he goes and gets himself killed!"

She let out a small sob. Tucker put his arm over her shoulder.

"I don't need your pity," snapped Ember, but she didn't try to move away.

Vlad watched, shaking his head.

"War is a fool's game," he muttered to himself, before grabbing the radio off Jimmy's body.

"Plasmius to Atkinson," he said, soberly, "Diversion team is no longer combat efficient. Requesting permission to fall back to triage point."

"_Granted_," replied Atkinson, "_The Gun Room is active now._"

* * *

At the bottom end of the Gun Room, Chester and Molly stood against the walls.

The door opened, and Vlad (carrying Technus), Tucker and Ember stepped out.

"We're done," said Tucker, shaking Molly's shoulder.

She fell forward, flopping to the ground.

"I'm sorry, tovarish."

Kalashnikov and Rourke were standing nearby.

"They were flanked by Conscripts," Rourke informed, "They were shot down as I got here. I'd say they held off three waves of them."

There was a sullen pause.

"They are heroes, comrade," Kalashnikov said, sadly, "It was pleasure to fight against them – now it is a pleasure to fight with you."

"Where's Bishop?" asked Rourke.

There was no reply.

Rourke looked at his feet.

"Sergeant Rourke?" asked Vlad.

He was met only with sobs.

* * *

Timmy and company were just a few hundred metres away from the bridge when they received a message.

"_Plasmius to Turner. Neutron is down. Distraction team is extracting. Kalashnikov defected."_

"Who's left?" asked Timmy, worry in his voice.

"_Myself, Foley, Technus and McLain from the Distraction Team,_" replied Vlad, _"McBadbat and Keith were flanked and killed. That just leaves us, Rourke, Estevez, Foliax and your parents. We're expecting further casualties on our way to the escape section._"

Timmy nodded sadly.

"_Turner, if you give up now, we're all doomed,_" snapped Vlad, _"Keep going. That's an order._"

"Yeah," replied Timmy, hanging up the radio.

He stood in the same place for half a minute.

"Timmy?" asked Wanda, meekly.

"We'll remember them," said Timmy, gravely, "All of them, properly. I promise."

Then they walked on.

It would all end soon enough.


	14. Chapter 13: The Truth

I hope everybody likes this chapter. Heck - even _I_ think I was a bit excessive in the last one.

Review replies;

**aceventury:** Well, there isn't actually an entity known as pure chaos in this universe - Anti-Cosmo was hoping to achieve chaos with the dark. Anyway, thanks for reading!

**TweenisodeOrange:** Do not worry - I would _never_ kill Sheen. Ever. Sorry if that ruins surprise for anyone. Thanks for reviewing!

**OddAuthor: **Thanks! Writing that line was quite sad for me - Timmy/Tootie's my favourite canon pairing (although I don't do shipping wars.)

**BANZAC:** Glad you liked it, mate. Thanks for the review!  
**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: The Truth**

Timmy, Dani, Cosmo, Wanda, Spongebob and Sandy walked through the computer terminals just before the main bridge. It was oddly quiet – Timmy could faintly smell something burning.

"I think they're jumpin' ship," mused Sandy, her voice echoing in the silence.

"I can't say I blame them," shrugged Wanda, as the space station shook again, "How many planes are firing at it?"

"Hey, guys, look!"

Cosmo was pointing at a screen with three words flashing on it.

_On Timmy Turner._

Hesitantly, Timmy pressed the 'play' button at the bottom of the screen.

A short, stout, bald man with a one-piece black suit, a thin moustache and white tie sat at a desk, his arms crossed.

"The Director," whispered Timmy.

"_Mr. Turner_," the man began, _"If you are watching this, then I am probably long dead or have been deservingly locked up. Few people know I am making this video – heck, by tomorrow, not even I will remember, having wiped my own memory of this."_

"_The fact is, Mr. Turner, I know what you are. Our M.E.R.F. psychic, who you may or may not have heard me mention, has given me a vague report of what will happen to you over the next three years, starting from tomorrow – Day One if you will."_

"_It is imperative for the future of the entire universe, perhaps even the multiverse, that everything happens as it should be. That is why, this afternoon, I ordered that both Daniel Fenton and Victoria Delisle be brought in for recruitment by M.E.R.F. – it's the first step."_

"_I have also contacted Arlene Doombringer, with the intention of her petitioning of President Fulton to set up an anti-fairy initiative when the fairies are revealed."_

"_Everything else, I have worked out as best I can. I rubbed the lamp of Norm the Genie and ordered him to work for Anti-Cosmo, before wiping his memory of our deal. I ordered Remy Buxaplenty to be tipped off to your problem on the second day. I began dealing with R.E.R.E. and Colonel Atkinson, full knowing that they would defect to your side."_

"_I set the bricks into place for your next three years of hell. I understand if you despise me for it."_

Timmy stood, in mild shock. The Director's voice was demonstrating an honest – and very alien – humility as he spoke.

"_I've complied a list of contacts making roughly a hundred entires,"_ the Director continued, _"I pulled some strings from a friend in the USMC to have a Force Recon team pulled from Afghanistan in two years, allowing them to join you."_

"_I got a driver of the California-Texas freight route to re-route through Dimmsdale to allow you to escape."_

"_I pulled strings in the German government, allowing their support of you."_

"_I went so far as to give Freakshow a method of entering Clockwork's lair unopposed, allowing him to steal Dan Phantom's thermos."_

"_Now, I'm going to tell you one more thing, Mr. Turner, one thing to save the world."_

The Director sighed heavily.

"_The Balance and the Hairband, I'm sure you've got them by now,_" he explained, _"But you also have something else, something the King of the Dark could not possibly understand._"

There was a long pause.

"_You have love._"

The Director cleared his throat.

"_Now, before I go, our psychic's name is Harlem Jarvis, he lives in Queens. I'm gonna make sure he stays out of this, but once you finish this, Mr. Turner, remember Harlem Jarvis – he deserves a lot more then he's got."_

"_And one last thing – if you can ever find it in your heart, Timmy – please forgive me."_

The video ended.

Timmy stared for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Alright," he stated, "I think you know what I'm about to say, so I'm just gonna say it as it is."

"Oh no," sighed Dani.

"Let's split up, gang," said Timmy, a half-smile on his face, "Cosmo and Wanda, you guys head into the vents below the bridge – wait for my signal. Spongebob and Sandy, I want you to wait out here, again, wait for my signal. Dani, you're with me."

* * *

Veronica sat, irritably, next to the Big Wand. By use of magic, she could see the battle taking place on Cyclops, but she was unable to move and help.

"Problem?" asked Cupid, grinning as he floated up to her.

"They're fighting down there for us," snapped Veronica, "Why aren't we helping them?"

"Because they might attack the Big Wand while we're not looking," shrugged Cupid, "Besides, somebody needs to look after Poof over there."

He pointed to Poof, lying on a cloud as Mama Cosma, Big Daddy and Swizzle tried to change his diaper.

"You are not telling me that none of you know how to change a diaper!" snapped Mama Cosma.

"Hey!" growled Big Daddy, "I haven't looked after a baby for more then 15,000 years, gimme some slack!"

"At least you're not up the back here," groaned Swizzle, holding her nose.

"See?" shrugged Cupid.

Veronica rolled her eyes.

* * *

Rourke stood miserably outside the Docking Bay as the others prepared Jimmy's odd fleet to leave. Mr. Krabs was currently working out the Stratus XL – it was amusing to watch, but Rourke could not honestly find it funny.

He and Kalashnikov were standing guard, in case any F.I.N.A.L. diehard's tried to attack them when they weren't expecting it.

Rourke blinked as he saw two figures stroll briskly towards them. He soon realised who they were.

"Lydia," he growled.

"General Stone," noted Kalashnikov, "I see Freakshow has finally decided he doesn't need you."

"I see you've decided to go soft, now let me through," snapped Stone.

"Never, you bastard," growled Rourke, "You've cost me too much for me to just let you walk away!"

"Pity," nodded Stone, "Well, I wasn't intending to let any of you live, anyway."

"Rourke, Kalashnikov, you coming?" called Tucker.

A small grin crossed Rourke's face.

"What're you grinning about," demanded Stone, "As soon as I get to an attack heli I'm gonna down you all."

"Good luck getting there then," nodded Rourke, ""Foley, get your arse off the ground!"

"But…"

"Go, you mudak!" snapped Kalashnikov.

"What're you trying to prove?" snapped Stone.

Rourke simply grinned as the transports left, before pulling out a radio.

"Diversion Team is clear, carpet deck three, out."

"_Roger that._"

The Docking Bay began to rumble under missile fire as the fighter planes turned their attention to it.

"What do you think that's supposed to do?" snapped Stone, "You'll kill yourselves as well as you."

"No," replied Rourke, coolly, "I won't."

He and Kalashnikov walked calmly into the main Docking Bay. Stone and Lydia followed, the general readying his sidearm.

His face fell.

A force of French Mirage fighter planes were bearing in on them, missiles already firing as he watched.

There was a massive explosion.

Lydia found herself on the ground as the smoke cleared. Glancing around, she noticed General Stone on the ground, bleeding profusely. She also heard a deafening noise.

An Apache helicopter was taking off next to her, Rourke grinning somewhat madly from his position on the gunner seat as Kalashnikov piloted it.

"Ecto-Annihilators," noted Rourke, motioning towards the chopper's missiles, "What is it you Russians say, Kalashnikov? Oh yeah – _dosvadanya._"

He fired the rockets.

* * *

Mr. Krabs, Libby, Sheen, and the Turners made up the occupants of the Hovercraft – Tucker, Ember, Technus and Vlad in two other transports. They looked back as the Docking Bay collapsed in on itself.

"They sacrificed themselves," noted Libby, sadly.

"We'll remember them, me lass," said Mr. Krabs, gravely, "We'll always…"

An Apache helicopter flew from the smoke, Kalashnikov and Rourke clearly visible inside as they moved to join the fighter attacks on Cyclops. Rourke gave them a thumbs-up as they went.

There was a short silence.

"I'm sure they didn't pay for that," said Mr. Turner at last.

* * *

"What size of bullet did they use?" demanded Norm, pulling another tissue off Jazz's hand, "This thing won't stop bleeding!"

"Why don't you just get a cast?" asked Sarah Cummings, arms crossed as she floated next to him.

"Nobody asked you, Alice," snapped Norm, "I already _tried_ a cast, it didn't work."

"I think it's…internal," mused Jazz, grimacing a little.

"Why don't you just magic it away?" pondered Sarah.

"_I tried that_," growled Norm, "There're little traces of smoof in the bullets. I can't do anything about it."

"You're a pretty poor genie if you can't do anything," shot Sarah.

"I can do something, it's just that she wouldn't agree to it if I asked," replied Norm, "Nobody ever does, remember?"

"You haven't asked me yet," said Jazz, grinning weakly.

Norm crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he groaned, "But first things first."

He turned to Sarah.

"Sarah, get back to the lamp – now."

Sarah pouted as she faded back into her lamp.

"Now," nodded Norm, "The only way to save you that I can think of is if you were to accept djinnhood. There. Right, now that we've scratched _that_ one, let's get back to applying thicker bandages…"

"Norm."

Jazz looked the genie square in the eyes.

"I accept djinnhood, Norm," she stated, seriously, "I…"

"…will not let you," snapped Norm, "Anyway, we…"

Jazz put a hand over his mouth.

"I accept it, Norm."

Norm stared for a moment.

"Oy vey," he sighed at last, "Alright, for future references, I consider you a surrogate sister, right?"

"Sure you do," chuckled Jazz, shaking her head.

Norm rolled his eyes, and waved his arms.

The two vanished from the hallway.

* * *

Timmy breathed deeply, standing at the door to the bridge.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" he asked Dani.

"I think so," nodded Dani.

There was a short silence.

"Would you forgive him? The Director, I mean?" asked Timmy.

Dani thought for a moment.

"I don't know," she replied at last, "I really don't."

Timmy gave a deep breath.

"Harlem Jarvis," he said at last, "We find him when this is all over."

"Right," nodded Dani.

Timmy placed his hand over the door handle, but paused for a minute.

"I forgive him," he decided, softly.

Then he opened the door and faced his destiny.


	15. Chapter 14: Gotterdammerung

This is it! We're a few chapters away from an end to this trilogy - and at the climax!

Review replies;

**unknown20troper:** Thanks for reading! I'm really gald you liked that - it is a rather weird pairing, so I wanted to leave it open for interpretation.

**TweenisodeOrange:** Not a problem - Sheen is too awesome to die! XD Thanks for reviewing!

**OddAuthor: **I'm glad you liked the twist, and thanks you for the review!**  


* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Gotterdammerung**

The bridge of Cyclops was an impressive construct. It was filled with computer terminals and radar systems, true, but it was mostly a windowed construct giving a panoramic view of the space station. There was a viewing platform at the far end of the bridge, with a full, unobscured view of the Planet Earth.

Up upon this platform stood Frederick Isak Showsenhower, his back turned.

"Is it time, Timothy Tiberius Turner?" asked Freakshow.

He turned to face Timmy and Dani, a small grin on his face.

"Now, we reach the final chapter in your little epic," he nodded, "The part where you both die, and I take my place as ringmaster of all reality."

"I think you read the ending wrong, Freakshow," snapped Timmy, "This ends here."

"Oh, I agree, Turner," chuckled Freakshow, "It ends for _you_."

He formed to balls of dark energy in his hands. As this happened, dark shields appeared over the staircases to the platform, blocking them off. Timmy grimaced as he made balls of light in response, whilst Dani went into ghost mode.

"_En garde_, Mr. Turner," challenged Freakshow.

"Game on," snarled Dani.

Freakshow growled, and through his projectiles at his opponents, who dodged in opposite directions. Timmy rolled over, but recovered quickly and fired his energy at his opponent, who threw himself out of the way. The window behind him cracked at the force.

Dani flew up a few feet, and threw a barrage of ectoplasmic rays at her opponent. Freakshow conjured a shield, and the rays bounced off of it, hitting and destroying several computer terminals.

"My turn," grinned Freakshow, menacingly.

He thrust his arms into the air. They charged up like coils of electricity, before spreading across the upper room like lightning. The lightning struck Dani with a mighty crack, causing her to scream in pain as she fell back to the ground.

Glaring daggers at his opponent, Timmy shot a few rays of light at Freakshow, but found his accuracy was affected by his opponent's high elevation.

Freakshow laughed loudly, throwing his own rays at Timmy and striking him square in the chest. Timmy was winded and floored by the hit, and lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

"I have the high ground and a Partner, Turner," sneered Freakshow.

"Yeah, genius, I have a Partner too," snapped Timmy.

"Yes, but the high ground still stands," noted Freakshow.

He suddenly found himself drowned out by a loud whirr.

He turned around, and his eyes widened as he saw an Apache helicopter hovering in his window.

Sergeant Gregorio Rourke and Team Leader Avtomat Kalashnikov waved from their positions in the gunner and pilot's seats.

Freakshow crossed his arms.

"What do you expect to do?" he demanded, "I have the power of six hundred thousand of those things. I…"

"_About that,"_ chuckled Rourke, speaking into a loudspeaker, "_We killed your partner_."

Freakshow narrowed his eyes.

"You lie."

"_Lydia?_" mused Kalashnikov, "_Tattoo lady, wearing armband? Ecto-Annihilators, _sir_."_

Freakshow's eyes widened.

"_Oh, and that high ground? Yeah, nice while it lasted,_" finished Rourke.

He fired the rockets, and the platform – nay, the entire wall of the room - exploded into flame. Freakshow was thrown forward, landing in front of his adversaries with a metallic thud as he hit the ground.

"_He's all yours, Timmy,_" chuckled Rourke, and the helicopter turned around, _"We'll be making a quick detour._"

The helicopter turned and flew downwards, Freakshow glaring at it in utter fury.

"Partner or no partner," he snarled, "I still have the Dark essence. I can still win…"

"Spongebob, now!" ordered Timmy.

The bridge door was kicked open. Spongebob and Sandy charged into the room, the former's hands charged with emerald energy. He fired a ray at Freakshow, knocking him back to the ground.

"The Balance?" he growled, climbing to his feet again.

"Not just that," grinned Timmy, "Guys – hit it."

The vent fell out of place, and Cosmo and Wanda flew upward into the room. Both fired jets of magic from their arms, ripping into Freakshow and knocking him backwards yet again.

"Remember those advantages?" smirked Sandy, "I'd say ya just lost 'em."

"No…_NO!_"

Freakshow sprung to his feet, glowing with dark energy. He literally levitated slightly above the ground.

In pure fury, he shot a massive ray of dark at Spongebob, knocking him right off his feet. Spongebob landed on top of a large radar screen, crushing the interface.

Gnashing her teeth, Sandy leapt at the man, chopping him across the shoulder with her hand. She followed this up with a kick to the stomach.

Freakshow let out a roar, and fired another large burst of energy at her, knocking her into the door and denting it.

He felt a blast of magic smash him across the cheek. Turning with the reflexes of a lion, he shot a literal fireball of dark energy in Cosmo's direction. Cosmo was forced into the window, cracking it in the force of landing.

He heard a growl, and turned. Wanda hit him in the face with a series of star-shaped projectiles, before throwing a kick at him. Freakshow grabbed her leg and threw her over his shoulder, smashing her into the ground.

Then he turned back to Timmy and Dani.

"Partner or not," he snarled, "I can still destroy you."

Freakshow was at this point a terrifying sight. A small trickle of blood was dribbling from his jaw, and his left eye was puffy and swollen. His attire was ripped in places, and he was sweaty and dishevelled. His hat was long gone, and he was literally glowing with dark energy.

Timmy glared at him.

"You forgot one thing, Freakshow," he warned.

"Oh," demanded Freakshow, "And what is that?"

Timmy gave a small grin.

"The Dark always goes away – but the Light always survives."

He leapt to his feet, followed quickly by Dani. Grabbing her hand, Timmy gave a whispered message.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"All the way," nodded Dani.

"Good," chuckled Timmy, "If you didn't, this probably wouldn't work."

A light pulsed from his arm, flowing into Dani. Freakshow's eyes widened.

"A transaction of power?" he gasped, "B-but that's impossible, it's never…"

"The Partner is the one you trust the most, Freakshow," grinned Wanda, sitting up, "Can you honestly say you've ever trusted _anyone?_"

Freakshow went white.

Timmy and Dani rose above the ground as Freakshow desperately threw dark magic at them. None of his attacks, energy balls, energy rays, even the fireballs, seemed to faze them, even though they did mark their skin.

Timmy gave a wry smile.

"You lose."

He and Dani aimed their arms at the King of the Dark, and a bright aura of light crossed from them to him. Freakshow let out a scream.

A combination of Light and Dark energy exploded at Freakshow's position. The rays of energy smashed into the computer terminals, the windows, the floor – anything mechanical still intact was destroyed, all remaining windows were smashed and the floor began to crack.

Then the power subsided.

Freakshow stood on his knees, holding his head.

"Uh…what did you do?" he demanded, groggily.

Timmy dropped to the ground, ending the transaction of power. Dani, now depowered to (relatively) normal levels, dropped gently to her feet.

The Bringer of the Light walked up to the King of the Dark, and put his hand on his former enemy's shoulder.

"Freakshow," he said, softly, "It's over."

Freakshow raised his fist angrily – only to find it was simply a normal fist.

His hand falling to the ground, Freakshow buried his head in his arms and sobbed.

* * *

"_This is Swordfish to all units, the bridge just collapsed in on itself, the job's done and we're exfiltrating, out."_

"Kalashnikov, take us closer, we're not done here yet!" ordered Rourke.

"Da tovarish," nodded Kalashnikov, "I take it you can see that opening?"

The helicopter flew close to the very centre of Cyclops, where a large variety of hydraulic equipment was visible. It seemed to connect the entire superstructure together.

"I can," grinned Rourke, "Look's like a keystone to me."

"What are you waiting for then?" asked Kalashnikov, "Do you want me to make a speech, first?"

"Nah," chuckled Rourke, "We're bringing down F.I.N.A.L. once and for all!"

He fired his last salvo of rockets into the exposed machinery. With a bang, a shudder and a roar, the hydraulics began to collapse – followed by parts of the space station itself.

"_Now_ we're done here!" grinned Rourke, "Take us out, Avtomat!'

"What about Turner?" mused Kalashnikov.

"He's Keeper of the Light," shrugged Rourke, "He'll get out. Set a course for London, my friend."

"Right," replied Kalashnikov, "But when we get back to Earth, you're going to Saint Petersburg – best city in the world, I'll tell you…"

The Apache turned around and joined the armada of planes in returning home.

* * *

Dani gave a glance to the distraught Freakshow.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"_We_ took away his Dark powers," replied Timmy, "He isn't taking it very well, either."

"So, does this mean…we win?" asked Cosmo, hopefully.

There was an ominous groaning noise.

"Nope," replied Timmy, "We don't win until we get off this thing."

"And how do we do that?" demanded Wanda.

"Fly," grinned Timmy, stepping onto a cracking piece of the floor, "Everybody, get over here!"

Spongebob, Sandy, Cosmo and Wanda huddled around Timmy and Dani. Freakshow simply stayed where he was.

"Hey, Freakshow, get on here!" demanded Timmy.

Freakshow looked up, giving him a glare of complete and total hate.

"No," he snapped.

Timmy stood for a moment.

"Guys," he said to Cosmo and Wanda, "Take Freakshow and poof him to the ground. Take Spongebob, Sandy and Dani with you."

"What about you?" demanded Dani.

"Magic override," replied Wanda, "He's used so much of his light energy that it's the only magic it'll allow near him right now."

"So, you're stuck here?" asked Dani, worriedly.

"I have a plan," shrugged Timmy.

"You're gonna have to include me in it," demanded Dani.

Timmy glanced to his fairies, then to Dani.

"You're not gonna take 'no' for an answer, aren't you?" sighed Timmy.

"Nope," grinned Dani.

"Fine," nodded Timmy.

"Timmy, you can't just…" began Spongebob.

"Cosmo, Wanda, I wish you'd poof back to Earth."

Cosmo and Wanda hesitated.

"Good luck, Timmy," sighed Wanda.

They poofed away, leaving Timmy and Dani alone as the groaning got louder. Part of the floor gave way, leaving the duo on the edge.

"Grab on to the edge, and prepare to fly like your life depends on it," warned Timmy.

"Right," replied Dani, grabbing onto the edge of the floor. Timmy quickly followed suit.

There was a crack behind them, and the slab of floor snapped off.

"NOW!"

Timmy and Dani pulled up, Dani's ghost powers in effect. With a great effort, they managed to stop the slab from falling and head in the direction of Earth.

They were not, however, out of the woods yet…


	16. Chapter 15: Freefall

Well, we're nearly there! Just one chapter away from the end!

Review replies;

**TweenisodeOrange:** Too much is never enough! XD Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper:** It's cool. I was a bit afraid to do it myself. Thanks for reviewing!

**OddAuthor:** Thanks for the review! I reckoned showing mercy to Freakshow would be better then just throwing him off a ledge or something.  
**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Freefall**

The sands of the desert wafted gently in the breeze, not far from a large Arabic palace. This in itself was not far from the city of Mecca. It was untraceable by any map, and invisible from above.

This was the home of the Djinn Council.

Norm and Jazz appeared in a large courtyard, before three large genies, all in Arabic wear, none of them looking pleased.

"Nur Al-Aziz!" a heavily bearded one demanded, "What have you done _this_ time?"

"Hey, it's Norm, _Norm_," snapped Norm.

The bearded genie ignored him.

"What brings you to the council?" he demanded, "We had not heard of any _unpleasant_ incidents in North America lately."

"He probably tried to destroy Canada again, Sal-Ah-Din," a bald genie interjected.

Sal-Ah-Din rolled his eyes.

"That's something we would have heard about, Faizel," he snapped, "State your business, Nur!"

"_Norm_," corrected Norm, "Anyway, I was hoping to induct a new genie as per the freedom rules. That's why I brought this human."

He pointed to Jazz, her hand still bleeding. Dizzily, she gave a wave.

"So Nur-Al-Aziz has a mate, does he?" chuckled a female genie, crossing her arms.

"_Norm,_" pouted Norm, blushing a little, "And it's not a mate, it's a…err…"

Sal-Ah-Din rolled his eyes.

"Aaliya is correct," he snapped, "I can feel your emotions, Nur."

"_Norm._"

"So," nodded Faizel, "I assume you're applying for release from your duties to the lamp in order to provide a life for your mate?"

"Stop saying that," muttered Norm, "Yeah, that's what I'm after."

There was a short silence, before Sal-Ah-Din gave a wry smile.

"Very well, your release is granted, Norm."

"_Nor…_oh, sorry, never mind," nodded Norm.

"Jasmine Fenton?" quizzed Sal-Ah-Din.

Jazz looked up.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"I am an all-powerful genie," shrugged Sal-Ah-Din, "I can find out these things. Jasmine Fenton, do you accept the offer proposed by Nur Al-Aziz?"

Jazz glanced to Norm, and gave a small smile.

"I accept."

"Very well," nodded Sal-Ah-Din, "Faizel, Aaliya, let us do the honours."

They raised their hands into the air.

If one was expecting some sort of spectacle or fireworks display, they were to be disappointed. Instead, there was a small puff of smoke and a small 'gong', before Jazz found herself standing in the middle of the room, hand healed.

Standing, to be frank, was not the right word. More correctly, she was floating, her legs having combined into a tail.

"Uh…that's it?" mused Jazz.

"What did you expect, a song-and-dance routine?" asked Norm, dryly, "Now, if everyone will excuse us, we have a bucktoothed jerk to help out!"

He grabbed Jazz's arm and gonged away in a mildly dramatic fashion.

Aaliya glanced at the other consuls, grinning.

"Not a mate, eh?" she chuckled.

"Norm was always a good liar," shrugged Sal-Ah-Din, before they all vanished.

* * *

"_Turner, pick up, where are you?"_

Timmy pulled out the radio with his free hand.

"Dani and I are flying back down now," he explained, "We're hoping to land in Amity Park."

"_Understood,_" replied Atkinson, _"I'll order all Cave units to land at Amity AFB. Good luck._"

Timmy hung up the radio, before mopping his brow. His light energy seemed…drained, all of a sudden.

A terrible thought struck him.

"Uh, Dani," he warned, "We've got a problem."

"What is it?" asked Dani, looking nervous.

"I think I'm running low on energy."

Timmy suddenly fell down, slamming on the slab of floor. A small groan of pain was quickly exchanged with horror as he realised what had happened.

"I'm sapped," he gasped, "I need to regain my energy!"

"How long will that take?" demanded Dani.

"Um…two hours," replied Timmy, grimly.

Dani gritted her teeth as the slab became heavier with the lack of Timmy's help.

"What is this thing made of?" she growled.

She finally faltered, falling onto the slab and changing back to human form.

For a few seconds, the slab held in the high atmosphere of the Planet Earth. Then it began to fall.

Timmy bit down a scream as the wind began to rush past him, and held tight to the slab of metal. He gave a glance downward.

"That's a long drop," he breathed.

"How do we get out of this?" demanded Dani.

Timmy gave her a long, sad glance.

"I don't know," he replied.

The two were silent for a few seconds, allowing the rushing wind to fill their eardrums.

Dani offered her hand, which Timmy took.

"Thanks for everything, Timmy Turner," she thanked, giving a small grin.

"Same here, Dani Fenton," nodded Timmy, shaking her hand.

Timmy looked around, taking in the atmosphere.

"It's still daytime over here," he realised, pointing to the warm sun up above.

"Yeah," grinned Dani, "It's almost peaceful."

"Until we hit the ground and die," reminded Timmy.

"Well, yeah," nodded Dani, "But…it's peaceful."

There was another short pause.

"No better way to die," she stated.

At about that moment, Timmy hugged her, tightly.

It was a peaceful scene. Timmy Turner and Dani Fenton, sat upon a metal magic carpet plummeting towards an unforgiving ground about a minute and a half below them, locked in an embrace under a warm afternoon sun and a little cloud cover. Their forms were lit up by the golden sunlight, the forms of two heroes going to their fate without a care in the world.

Fate had other ideas.

Unnoticed by the riders of the magic carpet of death, a small yellow light appeared under the floor. This was followed by pink, blue, purple, green, and so on until every colour under the sun shone underneath the metal slab.

The forms changed, becoming humanoid in appearance as Timmy finally noticed them.

"What the…" he mused.

At last, the lights stopped changing, revealing a cloud of fairies holding the slab on their back, Veronica, Swizzle and Cupid at the front.

"What's going on?" asked Dani, confused.

Veronica shrugged.

"Well, we weren't just gonna let the saviours of the world get splattered over the Mid-West, were we?" she grinned.

Timmy and Dani returned the grin, as the fall slowed.

"Alright guys," ordered Cupid, "To Amity Park!"

The slab now dove towards the Earth, its occupants giving a cheer as they headed for home.

* * *

"What do you mean, _he's fallen out of the bloody sky_?" demanded Atkinson, shouting at an unfortunate private.

"We recognised a slab from Cyclops landing near Amity AFB," replied the Private, nervously, "The USAF sent an F-35 to check it out. Radio channel 098, call sign Hunter-Two-One."

"Hunter Two-One, come in!" snapped Atkinson, shouting into the radio.

"_I copy you, Swordfish, I'm over the landing sight now, scanning for heat signatures._"

There was a long silence.

"Well?" demanded Atkinson.

"_I'm having trouble with the scanner, standby._"

There was another long silence, and Atkinson began to bite his nails.

At last, there was a reply.

"_This is Hunter Two-One, I have visual on two heat signatures a mile away from the AFB. Your guys are alive, Swordfish._"

Atkinson gave a cheer, jumped from his seat, and glomped the confused private in ecstasy.

Then he stepped away, clearing his throat.

* * *

Timmy climbed off the slab and looked around, relishing in the feeling of the ground beneath his feet.

His face fell when he saw a platoon of US Army troops standing in front of him, weapons ready.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he nodded, bowing his head.

The commander gave a glare, before bellowing an order.

"Atten-hut!" he bellowed.

The men snapped to attention, and saluted the saviour of the world.


	17. Chapter 16: To Those We Lost

This is it! The last chapter! Yaaay.

I needed a drink after the first half, I must say.

**jay the sniper:** Thanks for the review!

**OddAuthor:** I was hoping you'd think they'd die, me being cruel like that. Thanks for reading!

**unknown20troper:** Glad you liked it, thanks for review!  
**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: To Those We Lost**

By now it was early morning at Amity AFB, roughly two-and-a-half miles from Amity Park. It had been a long night, as the police and the army – and even the Guys in White – scanned the city for the remnants of the Cave, to gather them up at the airbase for what Atkinson called 'debriefing.'

Now, it was morning, and the remains of the Cave stood on the tarmac of the airbase. The movements had attracted attention, and a small crowd of citizens of Amity Park had gathered to watch what would happen next.

Sanjay finished assembling makeshift podium of crates. He had had a less-then-harrowing time aboard Cyclops – he had been tasked with guarding the transports – but he still felt as though he'd been through a meat grinder as Timmy walked up to him.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," nodded Sanjay.

There was a short pause, before Sanjay reached into his pocket.

"I found this last night," he explained, "It's from before…any of this happened."

He pulled a crumbled photo from his pocket, and Timmy's heart skipped a beat.

It was a photo of himself, Chester, AJ, Elmer and Sanjay outside his house, dated to just a week before it had all begun.

Elmer was standing awkwardly to the side of the photograph, giving a somewhat nervous smile. Sanjay was next to him, his arm draped over his shoulder and a somewhat goofy grin on his face. AJ was next along, a small but sincere smile on his face as he looked up from some sort of contraption he was tinkering with. Chester and Timmy stood next to them all, both of them with big grins, Chester even giving the camera the thumbs up.

It all seemed like an age ago now.

Timmy wiped away a tear, before making to climb onto the 'podium'.

"You don't have to do that," said Sanjay, "The Colonel said…"

"I think I have to," nodded Timmy, and he climbed up.

Silence fell over the airfield as all eyes turned to him.

"Thank you all for coming," said Timmy, quietly.

"We didn't have a choice," somebody called out, "We have to be here…"

"I don't mean like that," elaborated Timmy, "I mean thank you all for coming on this…I don't really know what to call it…adventure sounds a bit tame."

There were a few shrugs.

"Anyway, thank you all," continued Timmy, "Every single one of you. We couldn't have done it without you."

He took in the crowd. Before they'd left for Cyclops, there had been a significant number of military troops provided by Atkinson – only one of them had returned alive. A lot of familiar faces were missing from the ensemble – every one lost a stake in Timmy's heart.

"I'd like to give special thanks to those…those who can't see this today," added Timmy, sombrely, "All those who didn't make it."

He gave a long sigh.

"Remy Buxaplenty, Elmer Boyle, Tad Strong and Trixie Tang, I knew for years before they died at Penn Station," he explained, "I'm not saying that everyone else who died there didn't do just as much as they did, but – three out of four of them, I never expected to ever pull through for me, and they did."

Sanjay bowed his head, wiping his arm over his eyes.

"I also knew Chad Grey – he was Tad's best friend, and he also died fighting for what was right."

Libby gave a small nod, remembering him.

"Then there were a team of Marines from Force Recon, who I had never met in my life. Lieutenant Bishop, Sergeant Gavin, Sergeant Morrissey and Sergeant Baker gave everything for people they'd been ordered to kill. It takes a special kind of person to do that."

Rourke bowed his head, shaking, as Kalashnikov put an arm on his shoulder.

"Another acquaintance of mine, one I admit I treated horribly, was Tootie Delisle. Perhaps if I'd given her more attention, if I'd just let her be my friend, maybe things would be different – as it is, she died for someone who…who didn't deserve her loyalty."

Norm was giving a somewhat thoughtful look.

"Then there were Sam and Vicky. Vicky, I used to hate – the feeling was mutual, yet she still stood by me. Both of them, deep down, were great people; people who didn't deserve to die."

Tucker gave a small nod, before bowing his head.

"Then there was AJ. He was a genius and a wonderful person. He was an indispensable ally and…and a great friend."

He wiped a tear from his eye, but kept going.

"You all know Danny Phantom. You know he went missing last year. Well, here's the truth – he died. He died taking down an evil greater then the worst nightmares you could possibly imagine. He died a hero – he died Danny Fenton."

There were a few gasps – and one less-then-prudent cry of _'Fenturd?' –_ from the crowd. Norm put his arm around Jazz as she broke down.

"Denzel Crocker was my teacher and…well, I kinda thought he was insane. Yesterday, he proved that, deep down, pretty much everyone has good inside them. He gave his life for that."

Cosmo and Wanda nodded, their eyes teary. Poof looked confused at what was going on. He was too young to understand, really.

"Valerie Grey was the Red Huntress – a good person misguided by the pursuit of vengeance. Despite that misguidance, she still died a hero."

Vlad gave a curt nod, his arm nursing his chin as he engaged in deep thought.

"Carl Wheezer was another good person – a guy who should never really have been fighting for his life. He still fought bravely, and he died bravely. We owe him a lot."

Sheen shuddered a little, but blinked and said nothing.

"Skulker – the Greatest Hunter in the Ghost Zone. If anything can be said about him, you can say one thing; the guy wasn't lying. He was a good ghost, really – at the very least, an honourable one."

Ember gave a sniffle, but shook it away.

"Cindy Vortex was someone me and Jimmy used to fight over all the time. She wasn't someone you could just push around. She did her bit, and beyond it."

Atkinson, standing to the side, gave a small nod of encouragement to Timmy, but it went unseen.

"Jimmy Neutron. Heh – there's a lot to say about the guy. He was a bit like his head – larger then life. It's funny, really; he always told me we were both going to get through this – looks like you were wrong, buddy."

Spongebob and Sandy gave a sad glance at each other.

"Molly Keith was someone you didn't touch – seriously, she hated that. She was dark, aggressive – and a very good person."

Swizzle buried her head in her hands.

Timmy inhaled another deep breath.

"Chester McBadbat was my best friend. I've known him since kindergarten – he was always there, a great, friendly guy. He sucked at baseball, but then, we all did, and after that whole 'Losers' fiasco, he was always ready to laugh about us losing. He was a great…"

Timmy swallowed a sob.

"…he was a great person, and I…I…I miss him."

Tears ran freely down Timmy's cheeks as he began to cry, but he still continued to speak.

"B-but people like him, they're…they're why we're here," sobbed Timmy, "They're…they're why we're here…and…and we can say…"

"Timmy."

Dani had climbed up behind him. She was crying as well, but she managed to keep her voice clear enough to say one more sentence.

"You can stop now."

Timmy fell to his knees, and simply let it out. Dani hugged him tight, also falling into sobs herself.

For the next ten minutes or so, Amity AFB was quiet as, in their own ways, the last members of the Cave let their emotions free for the first time in three years.

The nightmare was over. No longer would they be turned into soldiers to fight a celestial war between right and wrong. No longer would they have to wake up feeling that they might die today. It was all, finally, over.

Just one question remained, deep down.

"W-was it real…really worth it?" asked Timmy, at last.

Dani gave a nod.

"All of it," she replied, "All of it."

* * *

All was quiet on a street in Queens, New York, which made a real change – at which moment a black sedan pulled up.

A suited man got out. He walked into a tenement building and up to one of the doors and knocked on the door, waiting until the owner of the apartment answered.

"You Harlem Jarvis?" he asked.

"Yeah," nodded Harlem, a lanky man with a somewhat dirty chequered shirt and jeans, "Agent P. Williams, Mi6, right?"

"Correct," nodded Agent Williams, "We heard about you from a Mr. Timothy Turner, and we'd like to offer you a job."

He slammed a large wad of cash into Harlem's hands.

* * *

Morning became afternoon, and Timmy sat under a tree near the AFB, deep in thought.

It seemed too soon, really. News from Washington had already come in about emergency elections. In the meantime, a random senator – Timmy remembered them saying he was from Illinois – would be in charge of a caretaker government.

Now, the army and the air force had arranged transport away from the AFB, to take everybody home – or to temporary homes, if one came from Dimmsdale.

Atkinson strolled up to Timmy, grinning as he glanced across the runway.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see _them_," he noted.

Timmy looked over, watching as Operatives O and K of the Guys in White dragged a dejected Freakshow into a van, to be taken back to prison – hopefully, a more secure one this time.

"So, what're you gonna do?" asked Timmy.

"Back to London for a mountain of paperwork and an explanation to the Prime Minster," deadpanned Atkinson, "_Fun_. Well, it has been nice working with you, Timmy Turner."

"See you," nodded Timmy.

He sat back for a bit longer, before he found himself disturbed again by Rourke.

"You seen Atkinson?" he asked, "I've got a proposal to shove down his uptight Sandhurst-educated arse."

"He went that way," replied Timmy, pointing, "What're you doing?"

"I wanted to request forming a human-fairy squad," shrugged Rourke, "Sort of a police force to stop any more F.A.I.R.'s and stuff."

"Good luck with that," grinned Timmy.

"Thanks," nodded Rourke, "Guess I'll be seeing you, then."

"See you around," replied Timmy.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Rourke darted away, heading in the direction Atkinson had come from.

The afternoon wore on, and Timmy gave his goodbyes. Sanjay had tried unsuccessfully to get him to come with him. Tucker had promised to write, giving him his email address before Ember had dragged him off to the Ghost Portal. His parents had been reluctant to leave him, but respect his decision (again, they'd promised to write and demanded he do the same – they were improving). Vlad simply left without a word.

Jazz, Norm, Sheen and Libby passed at about the same time. Jazz had told them that they were going to stay at the Fenton's until the genie council could 'provide a residence'. Sheen had made a lovebird comment, and Norm had punched him offhandedly.

Timmy watched them leave as the sun began to dip over the horizon, feeling somewhat sorry for them. He knew Jazz couldn't stay with the Fenton's forever – before long, the ghost hunters would be alone, both kids gone. Sheen and Libby would have to look Hugh and Judy Neutron in the eye and tell them that their son was dead.

"Hey, Timmy, you still here?"

Dani was standing next to him, his arms crossed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," nodded Timmy, getting to his feet, "You ready?"

"You ain't forgettin' about us, are you?"

Spongebob and Sandy walked up to them, Sandy's arms crossed.

"What're you doing?" asked Timmy.

"I'm the Balance," shrugged Spongebob, "You're not just going to leave without us…speaking of which, where are we going?"

"Fairy World," replied Timmy, "Figured we could help build something up there – that, and Veronica can reach us quickly if anything happens."

"Can we get Patrick?" asked Spongebob.

Sandy rolled her eyes, but grinned.

"Yeah, sure, we'll stop and get him on the way," nodded Timmy, "It can't hurt."

Spongebob let out a cheer.

Cosmo and Wanda poofed up next to them, Wanda holding Poof in her arms.

"Alright, everyone ready?" asked Wanda, clutching her wand.

"We're ready," grinned Timmy.

He looked at the sky, which was now a bright red from the setting sun.

"To the future," he whispered to himself.

There was a poof of smoke, and he disappeared.

All was right with the world.

* * *

But wait! There's more! Stay tuned for the Epilogue!


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Twenty Years Later…_

Timmy Turner adjusted his tie as he walked through the white corridors of the lab.

"Will you stop that?" teased Dani, "We're just gonna be watching a rocket take off, y'know."

"Yeah, but this is an _important_ rocket take-off…thing," exclaimed Timmy, "I know the guy in charge of it."

"Hey, dad?"

Timmy looked down at his son, Thomas Daniel Turner (Tommy for short), who was looking around the hallway.

"Yeah, Tommy?" asked Timmy.

"Why can't the fairies just poof us into outer space?"

"Because humans like doing things," shrugged Timmy, "I dunno, you'll have to ask them."

"I reckon Grandma Wanda would know," mused Tamatha Samantha Turner (she preferred Tammy), "Why isn't she here?"

"Hey, Grandma Wanda is on a very well-deserved vacation," reminded Dani, "We're not gonna ask her back to talk about rocket science."

They reached two soldiers, one British and one American, who snapped to attention.

"Timothy and Danielle Turner?" asked the American.

"That's us," nodded Timmy.

"Come through," said the Brit.

The Turners made their way through the door and into a viewing platform, where they were immediately met by a high-ranking officer.

"Timmy, Dani, good to see you again!" grinned Field Marshal R. Atkinson, "I trust you got here from Fairy World safely?"

"Yeah," nodded Timmy, "It's easy with the auto-poofer."

He showed Atkinson the pen in his hand.

"Quite," observed Atkinson, "Anyway, we're due to launch in two minutes, we're just waiting on ground control."

"Gotcha," Dani grinned, and they sat down in the first row of seats, next to a middle-aged man.

"Timmy Turner," he nodded.

"Harlem," greeted Timmy, "How're things?"

"Great," replied Harlem, "I've got my own office now – I'm in charge of forecasting future politics."

"What's on the charts?" asked Dani.

"Border dispute in the Middle East, revolution in South America and China's building another cold fusion plant – same old," shrugged Harlem.

"Hey, Timmy!"

Spongebob, Sandy and Patrick walked into the room, the former giving his greeting.

"Hey, Spongebob, great to see you!" grinned Timmy.

"You see us every other day," mused Patrick.

"Meh, you get the point," shrugged Timmy.

"How's life in Bikini Bottom?" asked Dani.

"Same old," shrugged Sandy, "We got Jim into school yesterday."

"Man, I remember his birth," nodded Tommy.

"No you don't," snapped Tammy, "You were five and at the dentists when he was born."

"Hey, you were there too!" growled Tommy.

"Where is Jim?" asked Timmy.

"He's spending quality time with Uncle Squidward," replied Spongebob, "They get on just like we did."

"That's not very reassuring," muttered Dani.

There was the sound of the door opening again, as Jazz and Norm floated into the room, Norm looking bored.

"Ok, we're here – can we go home now?" he sighed.

"Norm!" snapped Jazz.

Norm rolled his eyes and plonked himself on the seat.

"How ya doin'?" he asked Timmy, dryly.

"Wonderful," replied Timmy, equally dryly.

Jazz rolled her eyes and sat next to them.

"Do you guys _ever_ intend to bury the hatchet?" she asked.

"Nope," shrugged Norm.

"_If that's Timmy on the other end, tell him that I hope he's still not wearing that stupid pink hat!"_

Timmy laughed. "Good to hear from you too, Rourke."

"Alright, we're ready," Atkinson said, loudly, "This is Field Marshal Atkinson to the _Endeavour_. Ground control has given permission to launch."

"_This is Colonel Rourke to Atkinson,_" Rourke replied over the radio, _"Major Kalashnikov's activating the engines now, standby._"

There was a sudden, thunderous roar, and the engines began to whine.

"_T minus fifteen seconds._"

"Danny would have loved this," sighed Jazz.

"I reckon he can see it, Jazz," whispered Dani, quietly, "Just…we can't see him."

"_Five…four…three…two…one…hit it!_"

There was an even louder roar, and the window opened. A large, white spacecraft was lifting off a launch pad, slow at first but faster and faster. It roared into the sky, heading for the atmosphere.

"_This is Colonel Rourke, we are up!_" a gleeful voice called over the radio, _"First combined human-fairy expedition to Alpha Centauri, we are up!_"

From their little podium, Timmy watched as the _Endeavour_ got smaller and smaller as it thundered into the sky, until it was but a speck in the sky.

Life was good, he noted.

Life was good.

**The End.

* * *

**

Well, it's been a wild ride, hasn't it? Alas, all good things must come to an end, and I must finish this trilogy before I go all 'George Lucas' on it and extend it too far.

I would like to offer my warmest regards to _all_ of my reviewers, who have kept me motivated throughout this story. I was going to list them, but my clock just hit 11:56 and I really don't want to have to be going through them right now. No offense; you're all awesome!

However, I would like to extend special thanks to **OddAuthor_, _****unknown20troper **and **Tweenisode Orange**, who's persistant support has kept me motiviated to keep writing. You guys are awesome, people like you make me proud to be a member of the fandom. I offer you thanks, three free internets and a salute.

I would also like to thank **my older brother**, who is the mastermind behind the marines and another sourse of motivation (in forcing me to write every single night :D). Give him a hand, people!

Well, that's all I have to say. Now it is time to think about life after End Times, if you will. Still, there's nothing, _nothing_ more satisfying then finishing something like this, and I wish everyone luck on thier own stories.

Good luck and godspeed,

E350.


End file.
